CR Surf News

Environmental tribunal found fault with 14 of 16 projects
From the A.M. Costa Rica staff

10/27: Of 16 projects inspected by the nation's environmental watchdogs in the Cantón de Osa, 14 have come under investigation.

In a report Friday at the end of a four-day sweep, the Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo released a summary of its findings.

The first was the discovery of a major hotel in Playa Hermosa de Osa that had been constructed without the proper environmental clearances, said the tribunal.

Also cited was a 492-hectare (1,215-acre) project in which a road encroached on a river and passes by a nearly vertical slope.

Then there was the two-story house in Pozo Azul de Osa that not only was constructed without any permits at all but had been built on Instituto de Desarrollo Agrario land in a primary forest, said the tribunal.

Tribunal officials said that they visited La Parcela, a restaurant and cabina tourism project that had been constructed in the prohibited zone that covers the land from mean high tide to 50 meters inland.

The tribunal began the sweep Tuesday with an overflight of the Cantón de Osa. From photos released after the flight, there has been intense development and the movement of land in the canton, which runs from Dominical south to the north half of the Osa Peninsula.

The large project is Costa Verde Estates on the border of Pérez Zeledón and Bahía Ballena de Osa, said the tribunal. The first stage of this project involves some 56 terraces for homesites, said the tribunal.

Tribunal judges said they found new terraces, extensive soil movement and roads in forested land, which brings up some very technical requirements.

This is where the tribunal said a road was found encroaching on a river course.

The tribunal said it was seeking information from both Pérez Zeledón and Osa on permits for the project.

The house at Pozo Azul de Osa went up with no permits, said the tribunal, which issued a closing order for the site. In addition to the homesite in forested land, the access road passes through forest, too, the tribunal said.

The hotel project in Playa Hermosa is almost ready to
open its doors to the public, said the tribunal. It is owned by Tucano Group S.A., said the tribunal. The project covers some 5,000 square meters or about 54,000 square feet, more than an acre. This project, too, was constructed in forest, said the tribunal.

The tribunal, its judges and experts from several different ministries went to the Cantón de Osa because of the extensive construction there. Municipal permits were up 200 percent in 2008, officials said.