Costa Rica is worried about Daniel Ortega’s intentions in Nicaragua to declare the Harbor Head lagoon a wild refuge, since the decision could cause a new diplomatic conflict with the neighboring nation because that lagoon is located in Costa Rican territory.
President Carlos Alvarado admitted he’s concerned and assured that he instructed the specialized teams of the Foreign Ministry to analyze the issue and render a report as soon as possible.
On November 29th, Ortega sent to the National Assembly of his country the bill that seeks to declare Harbor Head as a wild refuge and is already part of the issues that would be discussed by legislators this week.
Ortega’s plan is justified by saying that this lagoon represents a site of importance for the conservation of biodiversity, as this is a wetland and a highly productive ecosystem on which innumerable plant and animal species depend for subsistence.
However, in his proposal, Ortega does not mention how they will send personnel from the Nicaraguan Ministry of the Environment or the teams of scientists they intend to appoint to care for and preserve the Harbor Head lagoon, without the authorization or coordination of the Costa Rican government.
On February 2nd, 2018, the International Court of Justice (CIJ) issued a decision that resolved the border dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, which ratified Nicaraguan sovereignty over the Harbor Head lagoon. However, the ruling did not clarify how Nicaragua will exercise sovereignty over this lagoon, since with the new delimitations it now sits in the middle of Costa Rican land, sea and wetlands that make up Isla Calero, better known as Portillos.
The Orteguista proposal focuses on the fact that with this declaration, “Nicaragua is contributing to the consolidation of the ecological and biological elements in the San Juan Biological Corridor-Tortuguero National Park, on the Caribbean Coast of these two countries.”
The wildlife refuge proposal comes at a time when both governments are politically and diplomatically confronted, because Alvarado’s government has reported fundamental human rights violations in Nicaragua since April. Alvarado has urged the rest of the world to raise the pressure and supports the application of sanctions against Ortega.