The Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) filed a criminal complaint for the ecological crime, due to a new case of water pollution in rivers and bodies of water in the Batán area in Limón. The authorities investigate the complaint by residents of the Pacuare River Bar.
Since May 21st, communal groups informed the Conservation Area La Amistad Caribe (ACLAC) about the presence of dead fish in the canals of the sector between Caño Chiquerón and Laguna Madre de Dios. One day later, officials of the Environmental Control and Protection Unit (UCP) of the Caribbean Friendship Conservation Area (ACLAC) conducted an inspection.
The authorities from MINAE proceeded to locate the affected areas through Geopositioning Systems (GPS). Samples of water and animals were also taken, for the respective chemical analyzes and documentation of evidence with photographs.
The samples were taken in coordination with the Regional Institute of Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) of the National University (UNA). This body has investigated the impact of agrochemicals in the Caribbean numerous times.
After the inspection, the Environmental Control and Protection Unit (UCP) and the ACLAC Directorate filed a formal complaint with the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) of Batán for the ecological crime, with the contribution of water samples.
In addition, the MINAE, together with the Caribbean Environmental Unit of the National Coast Guard Service, carried out inspections of banana plantations in the area of influence of Caño Chiquerón, and requested logbooks for the use of agrochemicals.
The ministry also performs overflights with drones to monitor the surrounding canals and physical revisions at each point of interest. The objective is to generate information that allows to solve the case.
Julio Knight, president of the Barra de Pacuare Development Association, said that since 2003 he has fought and denounced the pollution. According to the community, contamination is caused by the arrival of chemicals, which are used in banana and pineapple farms in the area, rivers and bodies of water. In June 2015, residents of Batán denounced the same phenomenon in the rivers of Gosheng and Vizcaya, as well as the beach with the same name.
The damage caused by the cultivation of bananas and pineapples, especially the latter, has been discussed many times. The most serious case occurred in January 2003 when there was a spill of more than 2,000 liters of Bravo 72, a highly toxic pesticide, from Batán airport to the canal. Madre de Dios lagoon, Barra de Pacuare, and more streams were contaminated.
In 2011, research conducted in the Jiménez river basin in Limón by the Regional Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) revealed the presence of agrochemical residues in all water samples analyzed from sites with agricultural influence and pesticides were found in concentrations capable of causing death to laboratory organisms.