Old Ways and Rapid Change, Liz Jones

 There is rapid change on our beloved Peninsula.  We see it daily.  New homes and hotels under construction,  increased environmental activism, computers and improved communications, rising influence of the drug culture,  increased auto and truck traffic,  infrastructures under stress with the migration of families from the rural areas to the areas surrounding the towns coupled with the growth of the tourism industry and a  growing population of foreigners unwilling or unable to assimilate or participate in  the local community.

I believe there are some of us who would like to stop or reverse the direction of these changes.  Others look to the future with enthusiasm and others with trepidation.  But regardless of our sentiments, life on the Peninsula de Osa has changed, is changing and will continue to change.  These changes are increasing pressure on our community leaders and individual citizens.  Can we deal with it?  

Huge problems face our communities, which will need all the perseverance and strength our leaders can muster to resolve.  We need public sewer systems and consistently potable water, in the coastal towns and in some of the smaller communities.  A proper disposal facility is needed for the increasing volume of municipal waste.  Crime and drug culture is increasing rapidly and attempts to control it are frustrated by the lack of funds designated to our area and the distance of the courts.  Our children in the outlying areas are still lacking sufficient access to good education. All these problems will take time to correct.   The need for a public sewer system in Puerto Jimenez is crucial and should be on the top of the agendas of all community development leaders.  This project will take years to develop and needs to be started now!. 

There are other problems, which only require the attention, honesty and commitment of our community leaders to enforce the laws.  Laws have been passed over the years to help reduce the negative impacts of population growth.  Traditionally, the citizens of the Peninsula have paid little attention to these laws, with few adverse effects.  Can we continue to ignore these laws?  When will we start requiring proper sewer treatment for some of the questionable wastewater (greywater) that flows directly into the mangroves and Gulf?  How much longer can large, agricultural companies permit their poisonous wastes to enter the watersheds without negatively impacting our Gulf or our public water systems? What should we do with the increasing volume of hazardous wastes such as motor oil and hydraulic fluids and where does it go now?  How much longer can we tacitly accept the abuse of forestry laws without losing one of the most important and attractive features of this Peninsula?  What impact will the uncontrolled and increasing volume of materials, needed for construction and roads have on our rivers?  When is the correct time to start enforcing the applicable laws?  Tomorrow, next year, next administration?

Due to recent events involving this last problem, My "eyes have been opened " to the difficulties facing those concerned with the future of this Peninsula.  Of course, the official in charge is always out of town( he just left when you called) or "it's not our department" ( all issues seem to involve multiple government organizations) or basically when there is controversy everyone "runs to the hills" or changes their position temporarily. 

Extraction of materials from the rivers requires, by law, a permit or concession.  In the case of a governmental organization such as MOPT, only a permit, designating the time frame of the work, location and volume of materials to be extracted, is required.  In the case of private companies, an environmental impact statement, public notification and a review of opposition is required prior to purchasing a concession.  Apparently, on all levels of government, our leaders have chosen to ignore this law.  Why?  The bureaucracy is too burdensome, there is no impact on the rivers therefore the law is useless,  concessions are too expensive to be profitable for private companies?

Is it possible that uncontrolled use of river resources, with it's associated pollution( hydraulic fluids and motor oils) and sedimentation, will have no negative impact on the river and gulf ecological systems.  Has anyone noticed the lack or reduction of wading birds near the Tigre bridge?  Could it have something to do with the disturbance of the food chain?  Does it matter?   Are we qualified too make this determination.?  Are there other alternatives? And is it fair, to those living on these rivers, to deny them a voice in the location of these extraction activities?  Should the public not have some financial benefits from the sale of these public resources?  The laws governing mining of minerals, gravel, sand and rock from our rivers are not unreasonable. 

Recently, citizens of several communities, particularly Dos Brazos, were frustrated in attempts to gather information and participate in the planning of a mutually beneficial project, the public dock of Puerto Jimenez.  In the recent years the extraction of materials from the rivers, especially rock, has increased dramatically.   Often the citizens have awoken to the sound of heavy equipment, owned by private companies selling construction materials, working in their backyards. There is little respect given to the presence of a residential community, whose infrastructure, bridges, culverts, drainage systems, water systems and roads are precariously maintained with little help from government funds and lots of volunteer labor.  There has been damage caused by this equipment to many of these systems in the past.  And the situation has caused a continuing sense of an industrial presence in the community.  It is no wonder that many citizens had concerns a s to the scope and impact of this dock project on their communities. As is the custom in small, economically and familiarly tied communities, these concerns were only stated privately for fear of causing offense and impacting the individual's economic and/or political position. The burden of voicing concern fell to the leaders of these small communities (few accepted).  It is inconceivable that repeated requests for accurate information concerning the project and requests for meetings with the communities involved were ignored. At one point, an official involved in the project informed me that there would be no work done in Dos Brazos, eliminating the need for a, promised, meetings.  A few weeks later the equipment arrived to extract the rock! . Rumors were started and false information was spread, dividing the community and damaging the political relations necessary to resolve other pressing problems.   All this could have been avoided with a single piece of paper issued by Dirección de Geología y Minas (Geology and Mining, a department of MINAE) and/or informative, honest open dialog.  This permit would have contained the information the communities were requesting. If we continue to ignore these laws, as development, with the need for these materials increases, what will the future hold for the Rio Tigre, the Golfo Dulce and the adjacent communities.

We, as a community, are as much at fault as the government and our leaders whom we are always blaming for our problems.  We are a small community with individuals closely tied to one another both economically and through familiar associations.  When any society is tied this closely, there are unspoken, traditional rules of conduct to reduce tensions and conflict.  These traditions I have, in the past, greatly admired and accepted as important and valuable social tools.   Unfortunately, I see these, sometimes admirable, traditions as one of greatest hurdles facing the citizens of this peninsula.

What are these traditions?

 ·         Peace of the community being the first and most important consideration

·         Lack of willingness to openly  oppose the plans and ideas of others

·         Fear of causing offense

·         Willingness to appear united and in support of others even when that is not the case

·         Desire to protect the interests of our friends and families

·         Putting social pressure on individuals who may cause problems for  friends and family

·         Policy of non-interference, despite the illegality of our associate's actions and the damage caused to the community in general.  Incredibly, this custom goes as far as protecting thieves and child molesters.

·         Word of mouth communication of news, laws, and information in general

·         Local policy decisions are often made using this information which is usually distorted and inaccurate

·         Individuals often are afraid of acting on any information for fear that it is inaccurate while the sources of accurate information are jealously guarded by those who know, for reasons of self-protection or power.

·         Non-confirmable rumors often hinder the efficiency of a project and the effectiveness of leaders

I wonder if the citizens, residents and leaders of this Peninsula, will be able to work with or over come these deeply embedded traditions to advert the potential social and environmental disaster that could come with the uncontrolled, unmonitored and rapidly growing development on our beloved Peninsula de Osa.