Calendar of Events and Posts
Oct
27
ReciCaribe now recycles batteries!
October 27, 2007 | Tags: Community News, Environment | Leave a Comment
ReciCaribe has announced that they will now being recyling a number of new items:
- Used Batteries (from flash lights, radios, etc)
- Used Ink Cartridges
- Broken Down Cellular Phones
These items can be brought to the ATEC office for recycling. You can download ReciCaribe’s flyer and print it as a reminder of all the products they recycle here.
Oct
27
ANAI Presents Program on Sea Turtles
October 27, 2007 | Tags: Community Calendar, Environment | Leave a Comment
| October 29, 2007 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
This monday at 6 p.m. at the Salón Comunal in Cahuita, ANAI will present a program on the biology and ecology of the local sea turtles: Sea Turtles, Between Sea and Beach.
 Volunteers for ANAI doing Leatherback Turtle research. |
The program will include information on their conservation program and the results they’ve had so far.
The talk will be given by Joana Hancock, the Research Coordinator for the Sea Turtle In-Water Research Program of the South Caribbean.
More information is available about ANAI on the volunteer page or on their website.
Oct
25
Municipality agrees to meeting on marina; experts sought
October 25, 2007 | Tags: Environment, Government and Politics | 2 Comments
Members of the community presented a petition (see story here) on Friday to the municipality asking for a public meeting in Puerto Viejo to address community concerns about the marina development and it’s effects on the environment and community. The municipality agreed to holding a meeting, although if has yet to be scheduled.
ATEC is seeking community involvement to make sure the communities concerns are well-voiced at this meeting. They are especially seeking experts in the environment and development who can speak and offer expert opinions on how this development will affect the area.
If anyone has background in this area, or knows someone who does, please contact ATEC. Finding Costa Rican citizens who are experts in these areas and can speak about these subjects would be especially welcome and would likely be better received by the municipality.
Oct
25
Decree changes boundaries of Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge
October 25, 2007 | Tags: Environment, Government and Politics | 4 Comments
 Lagoon inside the Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge |
A decree published on Monday in La Gaceta, the official government newspaper, again changes the boundaries of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge.
The decree adds one area and removes several others.
The decree adds two areas of sea to the maritime protected area. 2,500 square meters of area was added at the mouth of the Sixaola river and 100 meters was added was added to the northeast of the Cocles river.
The decree also repealed part of a previous decree which included parts of the Puerto Viejo and the villages of Gandoca and Manzanillo in the reserve boundaries. It stipulated that the municipality of Talamanca and Minae, the environment ministry, should work together to determine which areas should remain part of the reserve and which should be deemed urban areas.
Costa Rican law protects the first 200 meters of coastline on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The first 50 meters of this maritime zone from the high tide mark is considered public land and cannot be developed. Within the next 150 meters however concessions can be granted for development. In areas inside the refuge, this land cannot be developed. Outside the refuge, the municipality would be able to grant these development concessions.
The Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge was established in 1985 and protects some of the most important wetlands and coral reefs in the Caribbean. It shelters endangered species such as the manatee and green and carey sea turtles.
Edwin Cyrus, director of the La Amistad Caribe conservation area, stated that this new decree opens the door to exclude an important part of the refuge and make it part of the urban zone.
“With this decree the entire maritime zone of the refuge could be redrawn as urban zone”, he warned.
Cyrus also warned that “economic development in areas beside the protected zone can be catastrophic for the wetlands of the zone which are on listed on The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as of international importance.”
For her part, Paola Mora, legal counsel for the Municipality of Talamanca, said that it is the right of the communities of Gandoca, Manzanillo and Puerto Viejo to take control of these lands; that they are already well-known as urban areas.
“The municipality supports environmental protection and has therefore called for a halt in the falling of trees throughtout Talamanca.”
“The municipality commits to coordinate with environmental institutions, not just to do whatever we wish. Everything will be done in total coordination with the competent institutions to come up with a new process”, added the lawyer.
Link: La Nacion: Nuevo decreto varía límites de Refugio Gandoca-Manzanilo.
Your thoughts are welcome. Please leave your comments on this article.
Oct
25
American Tourist Dies on Fishing Trip off Cahuita
October 25, 2007 | Tags: Accidents and Natural Disasters, Community News | Leave a Comment
 The body of Delroy Johnson Ferguson, 62, was recovered yesterday, floating in the ocean near Puerto Vargas. Photo by Marvin Carvajal courtesy of La Nacion. |
Delroy Johnson, 62, died yesterday morning when the boat in which he and two companions were fishing hit something, causing them to take on water through a hole in the boat. The accident happened at approximately 6 a.m.
The boat was equipped neither with lifejackets or a radio. When it was clear the boat was sinking, Johnson’s two companions gave him the fuel tank to use as a flotation device. But in the hot Caribbean sun, the fuel tank became too hot and Johnson was unable to hang on. The three men then started to swim but Johnson was unable to continue and drowned. His two companions, Arnoldo Johnson and Aníbal Wray Drummond, swam more than two hours to make it to shore.
His body was recovered by the Coast Guard at about 10:30 a.m. Johnson was in Cahuita visiting friends and family on a 15 day trip from his home in Conneticut.
Links: La Nacion: Muere pescador aficionado en hundimiento de bote.
Oct
23
Community presents petition asking for more info and meeting on Marina
October 23, 2007 | Tags: Community News, Government and Politics | 9 Comments
Members of the Puerto Viejo community presented a letter to the mayor of Talamanca, Rugeli Morales, and the president of the municipal council, George Brown Hudson, asking for more information on the marina being proposed for Puerto Viejo (see Talamanca News for Sept 25th). The letter was signed by more than 150 people, including local hotel, restaurant and business owners, teachers, fishermen, workers, a doctor, surfers, residents and tourists.
The letter expresses surprise that the community first learned of the council’s approval of the marina project in a La Nacion article–there was no public consultation.
The letter writers are particularly concerned that the marina project will adversly affect the sensitive environment of the area, a concern also expressed by many of the readers of The Talamanca News who commented on the original article.
Among the specific concerns expressed by the letter is how the project will affect the areas already overtaxed water supply which has ran dry several times in the last year. They also ask what will happen to all the additional waste generated by the huge project — both garbage and sewage. They question whether a project of this sort is in line with the area’s reputation as an ecotourism destination.
The letter writers have asked for a community meeting on these issues. If and when one is announced, we will let our readers know here.
You can read the letter presented here.
Oct
11
Cultural event Saturday celebrates Día de la Raza
October 11, 2007 | Tags: Community Calendar, Entertainment, Environment | Leave a Comment
| October 13, 2007 | ||
| 5:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
ADELA is hosting an event this Saturday at La Casa de la Cultura starting at 5pm. The event celebrates el día de la raza and the launch of their new magazine La Bioenergía, una Alternativa al Petróleo (Bioenergy, an Alternative to Petroleum).
The event includes a diverse set of entertainment:
- Manzanillo’s Dancing Girls
- The Pablu Serku indigenous theater group
- Dance the Sorbón
- Unveiling of the magazine
- Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean food
Oct
10
Dole to phase out use of herbicide Paraquat
October 10, 2007 | Tags: Environment | Leave a Comment
 Banana plantation housing adjoining the fields near Sixaola |
Dole Food Company, Inc., the global fruit giant has announced they are phasing out the use of the highly-toxic herbicide Paraquat. The herbicide is being phased out immediately in all locations except Costa Rica where they will delay the phase-out until June 30th, 2008. Dole says the phase-out is in response to “market demands” but the reality is that the a recent European Union court decision recently banned completely the use or sale of Paraquat in the EU.
Dole is the major producer of bananas in Costa Rica as well as other products. In the Puerto Viejo area, you can see the banana plantations stretching from Bribri to Sixaola at the Panama border along highway. Some local workers commute from banana plantatin communities
The herbicide is highly toxic to workers when they are exposed to it. Dole though says that it is not immediately phasing it out here, it will continue to only be applied by mechanized devices.
Oct
8
TLC passes narrowly
October 8, 2007 | Tags: Government and Politics | Leave a Comment
 National Results  Limon Province Results |
Provisional results from the TLC referendum give the yes side a narrow victory. The results were split across the country with several provinces voting No. Voters in Limon Province though were the strongest supporters of the treaty, voting 55% in favor.
Official results are available from the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones.
How do you think this will affect Costa Rica and our local communities in Talamanca? Leave your comment on this article.
Oct
1
TLC vote set for Sunday
October 1, 2007 | Tags: Community Calendar, Government and Politics | 1 Comment
| October 7, 2007 |
Local residents who wanted to discuss the upcoming TLC referendum met last night at the hall of La Casa de la Cultura. As everyone knows, Costa Rica is holding a referendum this coming Sunday October 7th to decide whether the country should ratify this free trade treaty with the US and Central American nations.
Voting will occur in your local community school. Turn out is expected to be huge nationally so Puerto Viejo residents are encouraged to make their local voices count.
If you have an opinion on the TLC that you’d like to share with the community, please leave a comment here.
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