Talamanca coastal plan sparks controversy and requires investigation

Several environmental organizations and politicians have called on the authorities to investigate the alleged conflicts of interest and influence of the inhabitants of the Maritime and Terrestrial Zone (ZMT) who were involved in the process of the new Talamanca Coastal Regulation Plan, from which they would benefit.

On September 26, 2023, the Talamanca Municipal Council approved the Coastal Regulation Plan for the Talamanca-Cahuita district, which covers the area from Cahuita (Tuba Creek) to Manzanillo. The Regulation Plan has been questioned by many sectors due to serious irregularities and the State Natural Heritage (PNE) would be eliminated by issuing more construction permits.

According to environmental activists, both the municipality of Talamanca and the National System of Protected Natural Areas (SINAC) have issued permits for land use, construction and deforestation in areas considered state natural heritage that house wetlands or coastal forests.

In February, Frente Amplio congressman Ariel Robles asked the municipality to provide a list of the names and legal entities that inhabited the ZMT, but the municipality refused and was later ordered to do so by the Constitutional Court.

According to Congressman Robles, this could be an instance of influence peddling because the population “instead of working towards a regulatory plan consistent with the interests of the canton, is pursuing its own interests as owners of land within the ZMT.”

Robles explained that they had forwarded this information to the prosecutor in charge of the environmental case and would include it in a broader investigation of the regulatory plan and the people who participated in its discussion or promoted it and who have a direct interest in the zoning issues affecting the ZMT.

Marta Castro, president of Covirenas del Caribe Sur, said that the regulatory plan was created to favor those who violate the Forestry Code and the ZMT Law. Castro explained that many of the hectares rendered harmless by Law 9,223 are located in forests and wetlands that are part of the state’s natural heritage.

“The regulatory plan was based on Law 9223, as if it had not been annulled, to designate these areas as residential, park and tourist recreation areas. This zoning clearly ignores the natural heritage of the state and favors all these developers,” she denounced.