Translated by Isabella Hetzel

The Municipality of Talamanca intends to approve a new Coastal Regulatory Plan that threatens fragile ecosystems such as wetlands and coastal forest, as well as the scenic beauty of the Southern Caribbean, the community culture linked to tourism and other local economic activities, for the benefit of private capitalist profits.

In recent days, several environmental organizations, such as Covirenas and Bloque Verde, have reported that the Municipality of Talamanca intends to approve a new Coastal Regulatory Plan that threatens fragile and very important ecosystems such as wetlands and coastal forest, as well as the scenic beauty of the Southern Caribbean, the community culture linked to tourism and other local economic activities, for the benefit of private capitalist profits.

This new regulatory plan threatens a massive deforestation of 220 hectares of coastal areas for the construction of hotels, restaurants and bars, as it would allow an occupation of up to 70% of the land in the first 200 meters of coastline, and only 30% for green areas. This would negatively affect emblematic fauna species such as the sloth and, of course, the characteristic flora of the local ecosystem.

This new Regulatory Plan does not take into account the lack of potable water for the people of the area, a problem that will worsen with the increase in the influx of tourists, as has happened in many Guanacaste communities, where water is taken from the communities to be used for hotels and golf courses.

Nor does it provide for adequate solid waste management, which is currently a major problem, since the municipality does not provide enough waste collection during the high tourist season and recycling practices are not even taken advantage of. There is not even one solution suggested for the current poor management of liquid waste.

In a world with a climate and environmental emergency like the current one, it is a total absurdity to continue on the path of extractivism, destruction and deforestation. Capitalism does not offer any encouraging future for humanity, since the only interest that moves them is to increase their selfish profits, at the cost of exploiting and plundering nature and the working class. From below we must oppose them with another plan: we must take anti-capitalist measures that affect large private profits for the benefit of coastal communities, the working class and the natural environment.

From the anti-capitalist youth of ¡Ya Basta! and the New Socialist Party we salute and join the struggle against the approval of the new Coastal Regulatory Plan and we call on all environmental organizations to initiate a major campaign of information, protests and mobilizations to stop the plans of the capitalists who are destroying the life and the planet.