[ad_1]
The Community Alliance for Land Use Planning (ACOT) and several other organizations in Cobano, Puntarenas, have appealed to the Constitutional Court to ask the State Technical Secretariat for the Environment (SETENA) to stop a mining project that they say threatens the ecosystem of the Ario River and nearby drinking water sources.
The project, owned by Constructora Herrera SA, received environmental feasibility certification from SETENA despite claims in January that it lacked a solid technical basis.
Community and environmental groups claim that seventh— who is already under investigation for other alleged irregularities in the issuance of environmental permits and has been detained by the Attorney General’s Office — approved the project without conducting a thorough environmental impact assessment or adequately consulting local residents.
The conflict was sparked by growing concerns about mining activities in the region. Mining in the Ario River increased throughout 2023, with much of the mining reportedly taking place without environmental controls or technical oversight.
Local communities, supported by groups such as the Nicoya Peninsula Water Guardians, denounced the concessions as threats to biodiversity, including to endangered species, e.g. Sea turtlesThey also warned that mining operations could contaminate drinking water sources, posing a threat to local residents.
More than 2,150 people have signed a petition demanding the suspension of the mining concession in the Rio Ario since December 2023. Nevertheless, according to these groups, SETENA granted environmental feasibility to Constructora Herrera SA mainly based on the statements of the environmental manager hired by the company.
Environmentalists criticized the authorities’ shocking inaction and filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court, asking it to revoke SETENA’s resolution to protect the Ario River and defend the people’s constitutional right to water, life and a healthy environment.
The Arío River is part of the Peninsula Biological Corridor, an ecologically important area located near the Caleta Arío Wildlife Refuge. Extraction of materials from the river could cause irreversible damage to biodiversity. The corridor connects protected areas in the Nicoya Peninsula and is essential for the conservation of four endangered sea turtle species, as well as protecting mangroves, estuaries and rich terrestrial and marine biodiversity.
[ad_2]
Source link
