Green hub could be launched as early as this year in Costa Rica.
| Autor | Rodriguez, George |
With a history of environmental consciousness, Costa Rica now aims to become a global lab--a green hub to both share its expertise and obtain help in solving its own problems in this field.
The green center, a knowledge management system is a priority for the Costa Rican government. Partnered with the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energia (Environment and Energy Ministry, MINAE), the Costa Rican NGO Fundacion para el Desarrollo de la Cordillera Volcanica Central (Foundation for the Development of the Central Volcanic Range, FUNDECOR) is decisively involved in developing the initiative, which is conceived as a virtual platform.
The idea was presented by Environment and Energy Minister Edgar Gutierrez to the representatives of the nearly 200 countries participating in the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Paris Nov. 30-Dec. 12 (SourceMex, Jan. 6, 2016, NotiCen, Jan. 7, 2016; NotiSur, Dec. 18, 2015, and Jan. 8 2016).
Renewable electric matrix
In his speech to the assembly, Gutierrez highlighted Costa Rica's record as an innovator regarding sustainable development (NotiCen, April 14, 2016). Describing Costa Rica as "a laboratory of how things are effectively done," the minister pointed out, as an example, that the country had increased its forest cover from less than 30% in the 1980s to the present 52%. He also noted that Costa Rica's electric matrix has been mostly renewable since 2015, and that access to electricity covers 99% of the Costa Rican population.
Covering some 51,100 sq km of land, in addition to approximately 589,000 sq km of territorial sea, Costa Rica ranks among the planet's top 20 countries in terms of biodiversity. As a tropical country flanked by the Caribbean Sea on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west, and with a central mountain system, its microclimates contain more than 500,000 species--or 4% of the species recorded worldwide.
Costa Rica's image as a champion of environmental protection rests, among other elements, on its Ley de Biodiversidad (Biodiversity Law), whose 117 articles are aimed at "conserving biodiversity and the sustainable use of resources, as well as distribute derived benefits and costs in a fair way." According to the law, "the state exercises full and exclusive sovereignty over the elements of biodiversity."
At COP21, Gutierrez said Costa Rica wanted its pioneering efforts to be recognized, "in order to continue playing a...
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