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.
There must be a full hydrology report on file…I think that needs to be posted and reviewed. This development looks like some kind of fantasy land. I cannot see how the tremendous amounts of water needed to sustain it the way it is being presented could have anything other than a devastating effect on an already delicate Eco-system. I think we need to organize ourselves to block any water being taken from Rio Lajas. Perhaps apply for a wildlife sanctuary status for it (that is what it is…) I have no experience with this type of thing but I am willing to offer my time and voice to this cause.
We’re planning a meeting sometime soon in the Cabuya area in order to get better organized and start researching this matter in earnest. Please like our FB page and stay tuned — we will post meeting times and locations as soon as we can verify them. Thanks for your interest in helping us protect this ecological treasure.