Costa Rica, a country of great natural wealth threatened by anti-environmental discourse

San José, June 5 (EFE).- Costa Rica, home to around 6% of the world's biodiversity, is currently facing anti-environmental rhetoric that threatens its historic achievements in protecting natural resources. Environmentalists denounced the challenging situation on Thursday, as part of World Environment Day.

In recent years, there has been "the return of anti-environmental discourse in the public sphere, both on the part of political and institutional actors as well as trade and social organizations, which presents the environment as an obstacle to development," warns the most recent State of the Nation Program (PEN) report, prepared by the National Council of Rectors of public universities. For its part, the University of Costa Rica's Environmental Kiosks Program issued a statement this Thursday denouncing that between 1975 and 2020, 13 environmental defenders were murdered in the country, and that many of these cases remain unpunished.

Furthermore, he recognized the work of indigenous activists and organizations that have worked to protect the environment despite some of them receiving threats, including death threats.

"In an increasingly challenging context for those who speak out in defense of nature and human rights, publicly recognizing the work of individuals and communities defending the environment is an act of justice and hope. Their stories remind us that the struggle for land, sea, water, forests, and life is not an individual or isolated matter, but a common cause that crosses generations, territories, and cultures," said Kioscos Ambientales.

The State of the Nation Program report has warned that since 2022, when the current administration of President Rodrigo Chaves took office, "there has been a clearer shift in the official narrative, materializing in actions contrary to historical discourse and in greater violations of the state's natural heritage."

"The boundaries of a conservation area were reduced and modified, and support was withdrawn for initiatives promoted by Costa Rica around the world. Discussions about natural gas and oil exploration, the reactivation of open-pit mining and shrimp trawling, and institutional capacities were weakened," the report states.

The document recognizes that Costa Rica has increased its commitment to ocean protection and highlights ecosystem and biodiversity conservation as "the country's great strength," but warns that "institutional management capacities have been systematically undermined, and new fronts of productive, social, economic, and political pressure have opened up that weaken and threaten these achievements."

"Costa Rica needs to connect the development agenda with sustainability, and to do so, it is necessary, among other things, to build public policy based on information and a long-term vision; to leverage the current body of regulatory tools; to foster an active citizenry; and to create links between the economic, social, and institutional sectors," the document emphasizes.

The research also highlights the challenges Costa Rica faces, such as pesticide use, water management, plastic and traffic pollution, forest cover, strengthening Payment for Environmental Services, and actions to address climate change. EFE

dmm/mt/icn