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Costa Rica’s Constitutional Chamber ordered the suspension of all concessions and permits in the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, a protected area in Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean. The Court also suspended previously granted permits, aiming to prevent serious and irreparable environmental damage to the refuge’s maritime-terrestrial zone—a coastal area safeguarded under environmental laws.
The ruling stems from a legal battle involving Pacheco Dent, whose company, Playa Manzanillo S.A., owns two properties between Playa Grande and Punta Uva. Initially, Pacheco Dent sought permission from the Amistad-Caribe Conservation Area (ACLA-C) to cut 94 trees for a road as part of an urban development project. After this request was denied, a private forestry regent he hired submitted a new application to cut 29 trees in an area classified as “wooded pastures” and 50 more under a certificate of origin, claiming the land held a forest plantation rather than native forest.
Illegal logging, poaching, and land grabs are on the rise, and the current slap-on-the-wrist fines aren’t scaring off the culprits.
It’s not just rogue loggers or poachers sneaking turtle eggs off Playa Ostional, but larger crimes associated with corruption (altered land-use plans, shrinking wildlife refuges, or state lands handed over to developers), and narco groups tying their trafficking networks to environmental crime (wildlife smuggling alongside cocaine, or airstrips carved out of state lands for drug runs).
The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) processed 7,240 complaints related to environmental crimes between March 2023 and March 2024. These are complaints that are handled through the Integrated Environmental Complaint Processing and Response System (SITADA), where citizens can enter their environmental complaint.
Costa Rica proudly announced its first shipment of deforestation-free coffee to Trieste, Italy. The deforestation-free harvest was achieved through a pilot initiative led by UNDP, Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) and CoopeTarrazú, the largest coffee cooperative in the country.
While this article is a basic summary of recent reports on the trade of Myanmar teak and sanctions, it also lists a few countries where some FSC-certified or “ethical teak” can be found (Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Costa Rica, Brazil, Columbia)
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Data Tools
Click here to access the Global Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (ILAT) Risk assessment tool and to download the Forest Trends User Guide describing the functionality of the ILAT Risk Data Tool.
Click here to access the Cattle Data Tool.
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