A guideline was issued prohibiting the planting of pineapple, banana, rice, grasses, oil palm and other monocultures in forest reserves, buffer zones, national parks, biological reserves, national wildlife refuges, wetlands and natural monuments.
According to Directive No. 0006-2020 of June 26 issued by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae), it exempts forestry plantations from the prohibitions contained in the document.
Although in Costa Rica the procedures for approving new pesticides that enter the market should take a few weeks, there are processes that have not been processed for more than ten years, which prevents increasing and improving the supply of products.
The State Phytosanitary Service (SFE), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, accumulates dozens of files that are still pending approval, including some that have been waiting for more than a decade.
In Costa Rica, the government approved a decree that exonerates from the payment of the selective consumption tax to second-hand electric cars that are 5 or less years in service.
To encourage the use of electric vehicles in the country, the Alvarado administration signed the Executive Decree 41426-H-MINAE-MOPT, which grants a fiscal benefit to second-hand electric vehicles whose antiquity is equal to or less than 5 years from the year of its model.
With the new regulations for distributed self-generation and the methodology for calculating the rate, planned for April, it is anticipated that more business will be done related to the manufacture and sale of solar panels.
Entrepreneurs in the sector foresee new sales and investments this year, mainly from April, when the new methodology comes into force for calculating tariffs "...
The pit that was supposed to provide filling for the works of APM Terminals complies with environmental standards but its permission was denied after being unable to prove ownership of the land.
Lemon Stone, one of the owners of Tajo La Asunción announced it will sue the State of Costa Rica for $400 million for having banned the exploitation of the quarry to supply material to Van Oord Bam, the constructor of the new container terminal in Moin with whom it has a $350 million contract to supply 7 million tons of stone.
The harsh reality has forced a landmark in environmental topics, the postponement of the date for achieving its goal of carbon neutrality, abandoing the impossible target of 2021 replacing it with sometime between 2050 and 2100.
Recognizing the impracticality of trying to meet such an ambitious goal as the one initially proposed, the government is preparing a new official plan to be presented later this month, with effect from 2020 and which includes new targets.
Wind and solar energy generators are asking for the elimination of articles in the new regulation which refer to simple netting as a public service and for clarification to be given on the fee for accessing the system.
The new regulation introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) is facing opposition from the Chamber of Energy Distribution Companies and Telecommunications (CEDET) and the Costa Rican Association of Solar Energy, who "... expressed their satisfaction with the document, but have asked the ARESEP to delete three articles of Poasen and remove all references that describe simple netting as a public service. The Attorney General's Office (PGR) in early July ruled that this type of generation does not correspond to that type of service. "
Internal problems in the larger of the two current distributors is restricting supply in the market and has forced the government to authorize the operation of other distributors.
In light of the legal dispute faced by the main gas distributors in the country, which have stopped providing the service temporarily, the Costa Rican government has announced that they are willing to authorize the operation of other distribution companies that meet the requirements established by law.
In Costa Rica an announcement has been made of an expedited registration for self-generation of electricity and more complex procedures for the award of contracts to upload surplus energy to the distribution networks.
After the state power company ended a few days ago the pilot project for solar distributed generation , the Regulatory Authority for Public Services (Aresep) announced that the rules for connecting to the network and sale of surplus will be ready in the coming days. They are currently working on the details of the rates to be applied to "... The initial connection, the monthly access fee and selling the surplus (the price at which each kilowatt hour will be sold). "
The state run firm Recope has affirmed the need to build a refinery with the Chinese, citing the existence of a contract which is already being run.
Instead of focusing on strategies for renewable energy generation and opening up the energy market in the country, the authorities of the Costa Rican Oil Refinery insist on building an oil refinery, using funds from the Chinese government.
An announcement has been made that the legislation will be ready in October and will regulate, among other things, the method for deducting surplus energy contributed by each user from their bills.
The regulation on Planning, Operation and Access to National Electric System (Poasen) will also establish that applications for grants to install solar panels must be handled by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae).
An announcement has been made that the commission studying the country's energy mix will have a proposal ready in April 2015, but the rate will remain "stable" until at least the first quarter of 2016.
Although the government anticipates that by April 2015 they will have a proposal on the subject, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Edgar Gutierrez, said "...
The government has agreed with the municipalities that within a month it will analyze the effects of generating power using waste before lifting the moratorium in June.
The Ministries of Health and Environment and Energy announced that they will dedicate a month to studying the effects of this method of power generation before removing the moratorium established on June 17 on this activity.
An amendment to the Mining Code will allow the National Roads Council to remove materials from rivers and quarries in the public domain.
If the bill under review in the Assembly is passed, the National Roads Authority (CONAVI) may remove materials from areas in the public domain for use in road infrastructure.
An article in Ameliarueda.com states: "The Mining Code currently states that:"The State, through the MINAE, will grant temporary concessions to ministries and municipalities for removing material from ditches in the public domain or quarries in the jurisdiction concerned. These concessions will be extended for a maximum period of 120 days."
The money that the State of Costa Rica will lose in the dispute over the failed concession of the Crucitas mine will come from taxpayer's pockets.
Editorial
During the 20 year period of the soap opera that is Crucitas gold mine, none of the individuals who are involved in one way or another have suffered any financial loss and many, on the contrary, have seen an increase in their income and their bank accounts.
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