Project is Cancelled!!! (August 2008)

The 40 million dollar project has been archived (due to "inconvenient circumstances” - news link: La Nacion) and the project is cancelled! The coral reef, which was claimed to be dead by developers, was found to be alive and with a high percentage of regeneration potential by researchers and the opposition. This finding helped the campaign immensely. Save the Waves would like to thank all who participated on the letter writing campaign and the petition signing. Thanks to you, Salsa Brava and its surrounding environment is saved for now. For more information, please visit www.salvemospuertoviejo.com

Background on the Issue

Puerto Viejo, Limón, a small quaint surfing town in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, might soon change dramatically if governmental officials approve a multi-million-dollar mega-yacht project in the next month. “Grupo Caribeño, S.A.”, a U.S. and Dutch-funded company have submitted plans for a 398-slip marina that will cover 5 hectares of sea, which is larger in size than the town itself. The developers have announced plans to build an ecological marina and have claimed that the marina will boost the local economy by creating over 2000 jobs (less jobs after the construction is finished during a two year period). But local residents are not convinced the marina will be a good thing for their town. “The environmental impact in the area, the possible destruction of a world class wave, and the loss of character of our town that the marina will bring does not justify its benefits”, says local surf school owner, Hershel Lewis.

This controversial project could potentially impact a world class surfing spot, Salsa Brava, a heavy reef barreling wave, that has earned its reputation as one of Central America’s best. This world-class wave has not only been the destination site for thousands of national and international surfers and brought thousands of dollars to the local economy, but it also holds enormous importance in Costa Rica’s surfing history. The proposed marina will be built 1 km north of Salsa Brava’s reef, which could possibly partially block the swell window for the northeast swells. The marina will also completely destroy a beginner surfing wave, La Escuelita.

Local surfers and residents are asking for an in depth environmental impact-study that includes the affects on the wave and its surrounding environment. But developers have yet to address any potential negative environmental and economic impacts their project could have on the local community, and to date continue to pursue the project without addressing the surf community concerns. The Costa Rican surf community has created a site with in-depth information and petitions, in Spanish, to try to put a stop to the marina. Please visit their site: www.salvemospuertoviejo.com and sign their online petition. You can also join the effort by signing our letter addressed to the local governors of Talamanca and national representatives of Costa Rica.

An article published on April 18, 2008 in The Tico Times brings another issue developing around the project, where the indigenous groups in the area fear that the project will have a detrimental affect in their cultural heritage by completely modifying the area. Save The Waves’ environmental research director, Carla Graziosi, also agrees that the project might have a lot more negative repercussion than is thought. “This project could negatively affect the national economy,” claims Graziosi, “due to the potential devastating impact that this marina could have on ecotourism, and the destruction of Puerto Viejo’s waves and oceanic biodiversity, not to mention the cultural and historical heritage of the area.”