Marine protection

Marine protection expert visits Costa Rica

By Mike McDonald

Tico Times Staff | mmcdonald@ticotimes.net

From: The Tico Times

Dr. Georgina Bustamante, an expert in the field of marine biology, is visiting Costa Rica this week to offer her advice on Costa Rica's marine areas.

Bustamante, born in Cuba, has worked with the United Nations Environment Program to develop protected marine areas across Latin America and the Caribbean islands.

Her visit comes two weeks after the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Ministry (MINAET) defined two new categories of marine protected areas: the “marine reserve” and the “marine management area” (TT, July 31).

Bustamante will meet with non-governmental groups to offer her advice on Costa Rica's coastal areas and try to convince government officials to sign the Specially Protected Area and Wildlife (SPAW) protocol, which was established by the 1986 Cartagena Convention – an umbrella agreement among Caribbean and Latin American countries aimed at protecting the region's marine resources.

Costa Rica signed the convention, but it has not yet signed the SPAW protocol, one of three specific protocols put forth by the broader convention agreement. If Costa Rica signs the protocol, it will be eligible for United Nations funding for protected marine areas.

See Friday's Tico Times print edition for a full interview with the marine biologist.