Patos Permaculture Journey Blog

The URC and social organizations demand a halt on pineapple production into protected sensitive areas

Story by Rita Valverde (Rita-1712@Hotmail.com) May 16, 2017 23:28 pm

Growth of monoculture puts communities in the canton of Osa on alert as the Térraba Sierpe wetland falls victim of the threat to pineapple expansion

Setena granted the Monte Corporation an area of ​​602 hectares, the environmental viability to expand pineapple production .

The controversial project received environmental viability from Setena, through resolution 2331-2016-Setena.

Very close to this farm where Del Monte intends to cover the pineapple field are the four archaeological sites: Finca 6, Batambal, Grijalba and El Silencio, to which UNESCO declared World Heritage in 2014, for the well-known spheres of stone.

The pineapple farm would also be located a few kilometers from the Sierpe National Wetland Wetland, which could be seriously affected by the use of agrochemicals.

Unlimited expansion

The rapid growth of pineapple cultivation has been worrying several sectors and ecological fronts.

Different environmental groups such as the Conservation Federation of Costa Rica (Fecon) and National Front of Sectors Affected by the Pineapple Production (Frenasaap), residents of pineapple farms and environmental defenders left this Monday, May 15 to request that this crop be stopped .

The march left in front of the National Museum, went to the Ministry of Environment where they requested the nullity of the permit granted by Setena, and then concluded in the Presidential House.

 
“Worryingly, we are witnessing a new expansion of pineapple monoculture, one of the most harmful and unsustainable in history,” said Mauricio Álvarez, president of Fecon.

Álvarez said that pineapple companies care little about health, food, work, drinking water, the conditions of the communities surrounding the plantations and now, nor the affectation of the archeological sites that were declared world heritage sites.

“The only guarantee to stop the expansion is that people go out, as we are doing, that people organize and make mobilizations, that we be the ones who resort to defend,” said Henry Picado, a member of Frenassap.

Environmental dispute

The denouncing groups indicate that in the Setena a field visit was not made to the place where Del Monte intends to develop this new fruit crop, before giving the environmental approval.

Setena indicated that the visit was not carried out because at the time it was not considered necessary because of the information and photographs he had. However, weeks later, the secretary made a revaluation of the information and concluded that it was necessary.

This is added to having overlooked the importance of a site of cultural interest, environmental impact and health of nearby communities.

“People are receiving highly toxic agrochemicals such as bromacil in water, a herbicide used by pineapple industries. The country is retreating in environmental legislation so that the owners find it easy to sell and export, ”said Mauricio Álvarez.

Toxic threat

Costa Rica consumes more agrochemicals per hectare than any country in the world

The progress of pineapple has been increasing rapidly in recent years, according to the results of the report “Monitoring of change of use in productive landscapes” (Mocupp) from 2011 to 2015, the hectares of pineapple cultivation in the country quintupled, passing from 11,000 to 58,000 hectares of exploitation.

The deterioration of the soils and affectation of the health is produced by the intensive use of herbicides and fungicides such as bromacil, a high contaminant of the underground waters and used to combat the pests to which the crop is susceptible.

The groups warn that the presence of residues of this agrochemical from other plantations in the cantons of Buenos Aires and Pérez Zeledón has already been detected in the Wetland, according to the study carried out by the Osa-Golfo Dulce Institutional Program in conjunction with other instances from the University of Costa Rica.

Costa Rica received the declaration of world heritage by UNESCO in 2014 on several archeological sites in the Delta del Diquís.

Very close to this farm where Del Monte intends to cover the pineapple field are the four archaeological sites: Finca 6, Batambal, Grijalba and El Silencio, to which UNESCO declared World Heritage in 2014, for the well-known spheres of stone.

The pineapple farm would also be located a few kilometers from the Humeda

Whose archeology?

One of the many problems that the situation reveals is the archaeological assessment that is carried out, since according to experts, the importance attached to these sites is defined by the private archaeologist hired by the project developer.

“For archaeological assessment, when Setena conducts environmental impact studies, they are based on what the consulting team tells them. There is no archaeologist to help them with the decisions, to turn on the emergency lights and take what is said for good, ”said Myrna Rojas, head of the Research and Anthropology department of the National Museum.

The recommendation given by the Museum in this case is that a review of the archaeological assessment be carried out. In addition to having trained personnel to assess the project in the archaeological aspect of any work to which they have to give environmental viability.

“The big problem is that to define what is important in archaeological terms, nobody is controlling them, neither the National Museum, nor the Archaeological Commission, is at the sole discretion of the professional hired by the company,” added Efigenia Quintanilla, an archaeologist and expert in Pre-Columbian sculpture

On the part of the National Museum it is pointed out that it can only intervene once it starts with the earth movement. At the moment they can only make a recommendation of what should be done.

UNIVERSIDAD requested the criteria from Corporación Del Monte about this case, but despite repeated calls and the company’s request that the questions be sent by email, the questions were not answered.

Costa Rica: campeona mundial del capitalismo verde

THE CHALLENGE 

In this series, we explore resiliency; the ability to survive, and to even thrive in the face of peak oil. 

Peak oil

Peak Oil is a term used in facing the reality that we live on a finite planet with a limited amount of fossil fuel. Because our lifestyles are based upon energy from fossil fuel, we may not have considered what life would be like without this resource. But now that we have consumed more than what is left on the planet, we urgently need to figure out how to provide for the 7^th generation without abundant fossil fuel.

This challenge asks, “How would you manage if the gas stopped today?” 

We’ve experienced some of these challenges when the roads are washed out or the water is shut off, the power goes off, with lines at the gas station, and shortages at the grocery store. What would happen if this went on for longer than a week? What if the gas truck never came, the stores closed, the power stayed off, and the water lines never got fixed?  

These questions come from a hope to spark action toward building resiliency needed to thrive through the transition off of fossil fuel into a clean green future. 

It is a challenge, but we can do this. 

Last month, we shared Carla’s attempt face the challenge. She could not go one day. This month, Denia Bermúdez shares her thoughts on taking the challenge. She came to a similar conclusion. 

Denia’s Challenge

Denia is a capable and independent single mom, head of household, with a warm smile and a gift of service. She is involved in the Development Association and the director and teacher at the public rural school of Santa Elena de Pittier, where she implemented a garden in the school project. 

We asked Denia how long she could go without using fossil fuels; without transportation using gas or oil, without cooking on gas. We talked about how to get food, and other services through energy resources that do not consume oil to reach her. 

Laughing, she recalls attending a party for a 15-year-old who wanted to dance the waltz. The music stopped with the food and everyone in the dark anxiously waiting for the lights to come back on. She thought then about how dependent we are upon these systems. 

Denia’s answer to the challenge is that perhaps she could go a day, but probably not a week. They can walk and her daughter can go by bicycle for short stretches, but hey depend upon the car for transportation. 

The school cooks with gas and at home with electricity. So, on weekends they might not use fossil fuel for cooking.  She has a practice of collecting rain water during the rainy season for doing laundry.

She thinks about wild food available, and that she doesn’t know of many leaves besides the tender leaves of orange or lemon, purslane, guavas, and wild raspberries. She grows leafy green katuk (Sauropus androgynous) that started at the school project. While rich in nutrients, it is not enough to sustain a healthy diet. And that we might have to think about other wild food options like eating crickets and bugs. 

Through this exercise, she decided that she needs to grow more in her greenhouse and to see if the local community could do more to support each other through the exchange of food and products. 

She grows date bananas that she bakes into bread that could be exchanged for eggs and cheese. She thinks that they should buy less stuff that they don’t need. 

For Dania, time and energy put into growing things saves money while growing something that could be valuable to exchange. It makes her feel good and sets a good example for her daughter.