A new Facebook page for those who want to protect the Rio Lajas protected wildlife area.
Interesting concept: Using vultures equipped with GoPro cams and GPS devices are helping Peru’s authorities track down illegal dump sites. They even have a website showing each bird’s location and other information:
https://www.facebook.com/GallinazoAvisa/
It also makes a case for the importance of the vulture to the whole of the ecosystem.
These colorful stickers are selling for only 500 colones at Fresh Market and AM/PM supermarkets to raise funds for the protection of Isla del Coco. Please consider supporting this noble cause!
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http://www.nacion.com/vivir/ambiente/Calcomanias-ayudaran-proteger-Isla-Coco_0_1484251561.html
As an update to those who have been concerned about the intentions of a developer in building a mega-project in Cabuya in the Peninsular Biological Corridor and next to the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve, a project that could affect the hydrological reserves in the area, it is a pleasure to report that on May 2nd the Constitutional Supreme Court of Justice ordered the Secretaría Técnica Ambiental (SETENA) and the Cóbano District Municipal Council through the Mayor and Municipal President, within a 3 day period, to report to the Supreme Court about the facts denounced by neighbors of the zone in the legal action filed under the record number EXPEDIENTE Nº14-005225-007-CO.
Yesterday an informal meeting was held at the Cabuya community room. A good number of neighbors attended and there was an informative presentation about the situation with the handling of water concessions.
One of the topics that was touched was the important meeting that will be held this Saturday at the Cabuya soccer field where the topic will be precisely the handling of water resources in preparation for the dry season that is now upon us.
This presents an excellent opportunity for neighbors to learn more about our water resource management and to express their opinion about the rational use of water and the stewardship of the delicate ecosystems that are the rivers and coasts of Cabuya. Take part in the decisions that will affect water resource management in the area!
This image shows what is at stake. Please help us look after this environmental treasure — there are ways to benefit from natural resources without destroying their source.
Foto © Ed Bridle, allrights reserved. Used with permission.
A community meeting has been called for on Tuesday, December 17, 2013, at the Cabuya Community Room, 25 meters north of Super Chicho on the west side of the road. The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. and is open to the general public.
The reason for the meeting is to create a community forum to discuss the implications of the Brisas del Mar project and to attempt to inform the neighbors about the situation.
Please help us spread the word to the neighborhoods so that we have the largest attendance possible. We’ll see you in Cabuya this Tuesday!
More than a year ago, some videos were uploaded to YouTube announcing a luxury residential development project complete with artificial water parks, pools, sports complexes and even a zip line — all for the exclusive use of the owners of the luxury homes. The project would be exclusive of the general public and would have security gates. The videos show all kinds of modern luxury of the sort we are used to seeing in urban and suburban areas.
However, here in Cabuya, where we have bet all the chips on sustainable ecotourism, this project may not just be an incompatible fit — it may even be an environmental disaster for the region.
Here’s one of the videos that were uploaded to YouTube in September of 2012:
As you can see, this is a highly ambitious project, and it is a large scale undertaking. It’s truly worrisome how this large a project has stealthily been advanced so far behind the backs of virtually the entire community.
The first question one should ask while watching the videos would be, “so where is all that water going to come from?”
One answer to that question has been recently made public by the owner of a property on the shores of Rio Lajas who received a notification from the MINAE (government environmental regulators) regarding an application for a permit to take water from the Rio Lajas for a “condominio” (they use the term in singular in the document) to be located in Cabuya. This is a scan of the actual document:
Last year was a dry one and the region saw itself hurting for water in many key areas of the local economy. The problem was resolved with much heroic effort from individuals and community groups who took the bull by the horns and saved the day.
This year of 2013 brought another short and skimpy rainy season in spite of forecasts announcing that the rainfall was going to be above average. Following a drought year, this disappointing shortfall could have us in trouble again during the long dry season which in effect has already begun.
Surely a project of this magnitude requires environmental impact reports as part of the process for obtaining construction permits. Many of us neighbors in the community would like to see the results of the studies to verify that there is no threat to the “goose that lays the golden eggs” in this region: Nature.
What’s your opinion? Please feel free to leave your comments below; this is an open forum for a healthy discussion about a topic that can affect us enormously in the short, medium and long term.
