- A legal complaint in Costa Rica alleges that a banana plantation destroyed parts of a protected wetland in Bananito Sur, located in the Valle La Estrella district in the central province of Limón.
- Workers on the La Paz banana plantation, owned by Standard Fruit Company de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Dole, cut down and burned vegetation, according to several complaints and court filings.
- The area is a state-recognized palustrine wetland, located inland and unconnected to the ocean or rivers. It provides breeding areas for migratory birds and helps resupply the region’s aquifers.
A legal complaint in Costa Rica has alleged that a banana plantation destroyed parts of a protected wetland in Bananito Sur, located in the Valle La Estrella district in the central province of Limón.
Workers on the La Paz banana plantation, owned by Standard Fruit Company de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Dole, cut down and burned vegetation inside an area listed on the country’s National Wetlands Registry, according to several complaints and a June 23 Supreme Court filing.
In addition to environmental impacts, the dispute has raised questions about government transparency, with several agencies allegedly failing to provide information about what was happening in the area.
“The government has to draw a line and say enough is enough, and stop the company. It hasn’t done that,” Marco Levy Virgo, president of the Association for the Development of Ecology, an environmental advocacy group, told Mongabay.
Banana plantations often require extensive pesticide use, as well as complex drainage systems with channels that transport water away from crops.
Levy said he noticed damage related to that work at the start of the year. He submitted formal requests for information and technical data to the authorities, including the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE).
In April, MINAE’s Caribbean Hydrological Unit, responsible for managing the country’s largest watersheds, published two reports describing an agricultural drainage channel passing through the wetland from the plantation, with cutting and burning running parallel to it. The cleared area measured between 50 meters (164 feet) and 75 meters (246 feet) wide and 400 meters (1,312 feet) and 500 meters (1,640 feet) long, according to the reports.
The channel also allegedly drained the wetland and lowered the water table, leading to ecosystem fragmentation, according to one complaint.
The Water Directorate, another agency managing water resources, recommended referring the issue to the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) for further investigation. The channel had permits and wasn’t illegal in itself, according to the reports. But the damage done around the channel may have been illegal.
The area is a palustrine wetland, located inland and unconnected to the ocean or rivers. It provides breeding areas for migratory birds and helps resupply the region’s aquifers.
The wetlands also help mitigate climate change impacts, such as extreme heat.
“Wetlands provide a series of environmental services vital for human existence and prevent desertification,” Levy said. “Wetlands are really important.”
A spokesperson for Dole declined Mongabay’s request for comment, saying the company was unaware of the accusations. Its subsidiary couldn’t be reached directly for comment.
In June, Levy filed a constitutional protection action known as a recurso de amparo, asking the court to look into whether officials had failed to protect the wetland after learning about the damage and to provide information in accordance with public information laws.
The action, which is still under review by the court, included SINAC and MINAE, and several agencies within them. None of the entities responded to Mongabay’s request for comment.
In a joint response to the supreme court, SINAC and MINAE officials said they responded to all of Levy’s requests and referred him to the National Territorial Information System, a public mapping registry, for additional information. They also argued there is no legal obligation to create customized maps or other geospatial analyses for individuals.
“Access to the requested information was not denied,” the officials said. “There was no administrative silence.”
SINAC officials also refuted the claim they hadn’t responded to threats to the wetland, citing the April 20 detention of an individual cutting down trees.
In a July response, the Association for the Development of Ecology said MINAE should establish precautionary measures to prevent additional damage to the wetland, and share information about field work and updates to the maps.
Levy said regardless of the outcome of the court case, he’s going to continue defending the watersheds against agribusiness.
“We are going to keep fighting because the wetland ecosystems are vital for controlling climate change,” Levy said. “There is no other option.”
Banner image: A banana plantation in Costa Rica. Image courtesy of Wikimedia.
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Citation: Brühl, C. A., Andres, M. A., Echeverría-Sáenz, S., Bundschuh, M., Knäbel, A., Mena, F., … and Stehle, S. (2023). Pesticide use in banana plantations in Costa Rica–a review of environmental and human exposure, effects and potential risks. Environment International, 174, 107877. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2023.107877
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