It has been announced that public use regulations that will allow construction of hotels, restaurants, transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure within protected areas will be issued midyear.
The regulation is being prepared by the Tourism Authority of Panama, the Panamanian Chamber of Tourism and the Ministry of Environment, as part of the EcoturAP project, announced by the Varela administration in March this year. This initiative aims to exploit protected areas in order to develop sustainable and ecological tourism.
The plan to promote ecotourism presented by the government and companies includes putting out to tender installation of restrooms, accommodation and food services in protected areas.
The Government of Panama, through the Ministry of Environment (MIAMBIENTE), the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) and the National Institute of Culture (INAC), and with the support of the Chamber of Tourism of Panama (CAMTUR) has presented a vision and a Green Tourism action plan that will enable Panama to build its country brand.
A ruling by the Administrative Court prevents the Treasury from levying sales tax on tourism activities carried out in protected areas.
Activities such as rafting and canopy tours carried out in protected areas remain off the list of taxable activities for sales tax, according to a ruling by the Administrative Court, in response to a lawsuit filed by the National Chamber of Tourism in 2014.
The National Environmental Authority is evaluating creating a concession for food , lodging and transportation services in different protected areas visited by tourists.
This project involves the evaluation of each protected area with the goal of creating a regulation based on the characteristics of each site. The concessions will be made for places that record the most affluence, including the Metropolitan National Park and Chagres National Park in the central area. Other popular places are Volcan Baru National Park in Chiriqui and Sarigua National Park in Herrera, among others.
President Solis has rejected the possibility of harnessing geothermal energy in national parks describing their exploitation as "unnecessary".
While discussions continue at the national roundtable on energy which will supposedly inform the government and the public of its findings in the month of March, President Solis has already ruled out the use of geothermal energy in protected areas.
Through a government decree commercial fishing for tuna and other species has been limited to two specific areas of the Pacific coast in Costa Rica.
The first area will extend up to 40 nautical miles (74 km) from the coast and the second will be located beyond 40 nautical miles, in which larger scale longliners can operate, and between the two there will be a buffer zone.
The deputy leader of the ruling bloc has presented a bill that authorizes the state power company to exploit geothermal energy in protected areas: national parks, biological and forest reserves and wildlife refuges.
"It is nonsense, from an economic, social and environmental standpoint, that the country is rejects the use of existing stocks of geothermal resources in protected areas, like those for example in national parks or forest reserves."
Authorities from Tributación Directa reported that the sales tax on tourist activities will start to be accrued from September 30th.
Despite complaints by tourism entrepreneurs, Carlos Vargas, director of Tributación Directa, confirmed that the tax, which taxes at 13% activities as "... zoos, spa, canopy tours, hiking trails, bird watching activities, and bungee jumps, among other things, "will begin to be accrued on September 30 this year.
After complaints from the sector about the adverse implications of taxing tourism services in protected areas, the government has announced that they proposal will be revised.
A leading figure in the ruling party has introduced a bill that would allow state electricity company to produce geothermal energy in national parks or protected areas.
According to the deputy Otton Solis, member of the Citizen Action Party and sponsor of the bill, "... in the national parks there is a potential of about 350 megawatts of geothermal energy that can be harnessed, under highly rigorous environmental requirements."
A bill to authorize geothermal exploitation in an area which has been declared a national park should include reform of several other laws which currently prevent such activity.
So warned Jorge Cabrera, an expert in environmental law, during the debate entitled "Scope for reform to generate geothermal energy in national parks," organized by Nacion.com.
Costa Rica's state run power company is urging Congress to lift some of the restrictions on the exploitation of underground heat sources in places that have been declared as protected areas.
According to the president of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), Teofilo de la Torre, it is important that this bill be received as soon as possible, "national parks have restricted uses and extracting steam from the land for geothermal use is one of them, the 'Rincon de la Vieja' volcano has great characteristics for steam extraction. If we know that there is a high possibility of increasing clean energy we have to try it. "
The Guatemalan Tourism Institute will promote fifty-one protected areas as tourist destinations.
Guatemala has 300 protected areas, although the authorities are promoting about 51 sites as tourist destinations within and outside the country.
The Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (Inguat) and the National Protected Areas Council (CONAP), with support from USAID / Countepart, have joined forces to launch the website www.turismo-sigap.com.
The future area of operations has been declared a protected area and the Panamanian authorities have imposed new requirements.
Inmet Mining Corporation, owner of Minera Panama, will have to meet new requirements in order to start building a copper mine in Donoso, Colon province, reported the National Environmental Authority (ANAM), as revealed by the Prensa Latina news agency.
The funds are earmarked to improve the penal justice system and consolidate property registry in the Protected Areas.
A press release from the Ministry of Finance reads:
Two important agreements on financial cooperation in support of the Justice and Environmental sectors for a total of $52 million were signed today between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the State of Guatemala, through the Ministry of Finance.