The development of the Greater Metropolitan Area in Costa Rica has been halted awaiting a new proposal to combine the interests of over 50 offices and organizations.
Nacion.com reports that approval of the most recent proposal for a land use plan has stalled, "while the executive branch tries to reconcile the clash of interests between the various sectors involved in the matter."
Opposition to the expansion of the boundary for urban development in the greater metropolitan area is preventing the necessary renewal of the rules for land use.
Led by the Ministry of Housing, the Territorial Ordering Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Area created by the Institute of Housing and Urban Development, is in a period of consultation.
"The issue is controversial because it determines the type of use land may be given.
The German government will allocate about $27 million for regional health, violence prevention, energy and sustainable development projects.
The German ambassador in El Salvador, Christian Stocks, and the Secretary General of SICA, Juan Daniel German, formalized the implementation of four projects.
The first project, "Land Use Planning and Sustainable Development (OTDES)" corresponds to a request by the Heads of State and Government of SICA countries, expressed in the Declaration of Comalapa, last October, and aims to strengthen the capacity and performance of institutions responsible for land use planning in the region, with the aim of promoting regional and territorial development processes, allowing both the promotion of economic and social development such as an improvement in risk management and natural disasters.
Honduras has begun to regulate land use and ownership, beginning with planning at a municipal level.
The absence of any formal regulation was laid bare in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch caused thousands of deaths and huge economic damage.
The aim of regulation is to identify areas that are suitable for development in a wide range of industries, such as tourism and mining, as well as for housing, farming and fishing.