By a majority of 45 against one vote, the Legislative Assembly approved the Coastal Territories Law Project 18.148, known as Tecocos, during the first debate on Tuesday, April 30. The law is designed to regulate land tenure, including in the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge.
The law project approved, expedient number 18.148, will benefit more than 50,000 families in communities that have inhabited and used the coasts and islands of our country. With the passing of time, in Costa Rica a series of laws and public policies have been implemented, some of them directed at guaranteeing the adequate use of these territories. However, the implementation of the majority of these legislations and public policies, have left the communities of these territories unprotected and in many cases, far from favoring environmental preservation, they are causing serious damages to the fragile coastal ecosystems.
According to the Project, the legislation is urgent to guarantee the psychological, anthropological, historical, socioeconomical and cultural rights of these long-established communities located in our coasts and islands.In the same way, it is urgent that the existing legal mechanisms are improved so they are consistent with the style of life of the communities that have historically integrated their productive activities with the protection of the environment, indicates the justification of the project.
With this project, it is expected to halt the problem of evictions that has become a real ticking time bomb in many coastal areas.Juan Carlos Mendoza, legislature from the Citizen Action Party, highlighted the incidence in parliament on behalf of the remote communities.“This triumph belongs to all of you who have been giving this fight for many years. I congratulate you for so much effort so that this project would be approved,” said Mendoza.
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