Costa Rica

Costa Rica ha presentado hacia el exterior una imagen de país sostenible y comprometido con el medio ambiente, pero la realidad interna es muy distinta. La tensión entre la conservación y la actividad productiva provocan una creciente conflictividad social por el uso del territorio. Como un ejemplo del (in)cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio abordamos el caso de la producción agroindustrial de piña, que ha ido sitiando comunidades y zonas protegidas, y desplazando a cultivos tradicionales de importancia alimentaria. Causa gran preocupación, además, el paquete tecnológico agrotóxico utilizado sistemáticamente, que provoca la contaminación de fuentes hídricas. Entre 2003 y 2009 se presentaron más de 120 denuncias contra la producción piñera ante el Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo y el Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones.
Pineapple. (Photo: coecoceiba.org)

Costa Rica has an outward image of sustainable country, committed to the environment; but the inner reality is very different.

The tension between conservation and productive activities cause increasing social unrest because of land use. As an example of (un) fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals we address the case of agroindustrial production of pineapple, which has been besieging communities and protected areas, and displacing traditional crops of nourishing importance.

The technological package of agrochemicals used systematically is causing great concern, as it causes contamination of water sources.

Costa Rica faces serious obstacles in extending the right to health to the whole population, and particularly to marginalized groups such as people living with HIV and AIDS. In addition to the restrictions placed on acquisition of medicines by the Free Trade Agreement with the US, the country needs to overcome conservative social resistance in order to adopt legislation promoting the rights of non-heterosexual women and men. Without devoting resources to meet these challenges, the country risks failing to meet the Millennium Development Goal targets related to health.
Costa Rican society has been witnessing the confrontation between two opposing ways of perceiving and projecting the country. While some sectors advocate a market model, others expect the Welfare State to deal with matters such as the social, economic and cultural rights of the population. The crisis and the possible ways out of it constitute the new arena in which these two visions collide. While the Government proposes a package of measures which seems diffident and overdue, civil society stands behind stronger social and productive intervention.
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