The Costa Rican government is distributing a final draft of a document that sets out a "dialogue mechanism" to the country's 24 indigenous territories for their input, said the vice minister of the presidency earlier this month. "This stage will allow us to refine details of the mechanism that we have built together with indigenous peoples, so that the result is a document that responds to the re...

The heavy rains that soaked much of Costa Rica Tuesday night, August 29, caused 58 people to be evacuated to shelters due to flooding in their homes. In total, the National Emergency Commission (CNE) handled 50 different incidents in 22 cantons in eight regions of the country. Meteorologists have warned that tropical systems off of the country's coasts will be bringing heavy rains in the upcomi...

Farmers in Costa Rica are clamoring for changes in immigration policies in order to facilitate contracting field hands from Nicaragua and Panama, said a report in Costa Rica's agricultural industry's magazine, ProAgro. The Costa Rican National Chamber of Agriculture and Agroindustry (CNAA) says that current legislation does not coincide with the reality of the agricultural, aquaculture, and agr...

Roche, a branch of Hoffman-La Roche, selected Escazú Village as the new headquarters of its Costa Rican Global Shared Information Technology Services Center. The center will serve the company's operations in Canada and the United States, said a report in Costa Rica's Summa business magazine. F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two di...

The British Ambassador organized a special send off for eight Costa Rican scholars, announced the British Embassy. Chevening is the UK government's global leadership program, offering fully-funded scholarships for future leaders and influencers to study in the UK. On August 21, 2017, British Ambassador to Costa Rica, Ross Denny, hosted a farewell event for the eight Costa Rican scholars who ...

The United States' diplomatic seat in Costa Rica announced that Monday, September 4 its installations will be closed. The U.S. Embassy and Consulate will be closed in commemoration of the celebration of Labor Day, observed each year in the U.S. on the first Monday of September. The diplomatic press office said the date is "dedicated to celebrating the social and economic achievements of Amer...

Ninety low-income women in Costa Rica will benefit from a donation of mammograms by the country's most widely read tabloid, Diario Extra, said that paper in a recent report. The women will be selected by the Lazos or "ties" program at the San José Bíblica Hospital, which is a support program for breast cancer victims sponsored by Grupo Mutual and Banca Kristal. "We are working hand in hand wit...

Costa Rica's recently completed National Police School, which will open in October, has the capacity for housing 810 police officers, said the Ministry of Public Security. The campus consists of 29 buildings that make up the police training complex in La Rita de Pococí in the province of Limón. The infrastructure is estimated to have cost 12 billion colones, of which 9 billion were donated b...

Q: What do snorkeling in a national park and having a drink after class have in common? A: You might find a plastic straw in both places. Trash that is improperly discarded and treated in San José, Costa Rica's populous Central Valley floats down to beaches on the country's omnipresent rivers and streams, where it then becomes an often permanent, and deadly, part of marine ecosystems, with plas...

For the fifth year, the RIU Hotel chain reaffirms its fight against sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry.The Hotel Riu Palace Costa Rica (All Inclusive 24h), is located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica on the edge of the beach of Matapalo. This hotel has four swimming pools (one with a wet bar), jacuzzi, gym, sauna and a wellness center "Renova Spa" with different treatments and massag...

Hotel owners in Costa Rica are leading an effort to draft legislation that would tax vacation rentals such as condominiums and other lodgings that currently fall into a legal gray area. The proposal, which is close to being introduced in the Legislative Assembly, would apply a hotel tax on rentals in Costa Rica booked through online platforms such as Airbnb, FlipKey, Tripping.com, HomeAway and ...

During a recent visit to Beijing, China by Costa Rica's foreign trade authorities, considerations for the creation of a Chinese funded and developed Special Economic Zone in Costa Rica were discussed. China presented results of a technical study undertaken to determine the feasibility of developing such a commercial zone. Moving forward on such a large scale and long-term initiative requires...

Conservationists have lauded the proactive actions by park officials in the Tortugero, Costa Rica Conservation Area (ACTO, its initials in Spanish) to restrict areas where jaguars have been sighted. This meant some of the park's trails were closed to visitors for a period. However, this has not stopped a "small but powerful tourist business" from organizing unauthorized forays into such area...

With tropical storm Harvey now a raging hurricane passing over parts of the southern United States, four United Airlines flights to Costa Rica out of Houston, Texas were canceled this weekend. So far, these are the only flights affected by the hurricane after it struck the Texas coast this weekend, said Aeris, administrator of San José's Juan Santamaría international airport. Aeris advised p...

Today, Sunday, August 26 is the final day of the 3-day ExpoKids event at Mutliplaza Oeste in Escazú, a western district of San José. The free event is focused on moms and babies this year, and has information relevant to caregivers and parents of young ones, said the event's Facebook page. Next weekend, from September 1-3, the event will repeat on the eastern side of San José at the Curridab...

On Thursday, officials from the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) signed a cooperation agreement that will allow for police to operate out of  facilities inside the country's nature conservation areas, such as national park and wildlife refuges. This was confirmed by the Minister of Public Security, María Fullmen Salazar, who explained that pol...

Situated in Quepos, Costa Rica on the outskirts of Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica Fads is one of the top charters for offshore & fad fishing in Quepos, Costa Rica,said the company which organizes customized FAD tours to their special offshore fishing sites. What are the FADs? FADs stand for Fish Aggregating Device and are set up on naturally occurring sea mounts from 100-13...

Costa Rica's first attempt at an unmanned space mission is entering its final phase of development of a space satellite, said a report in the digital Costa Rican Spanish-language news site ElMundo.cr. Scientists working on Project Irazú are programming and verifying the satellite's systems, as well as the terrestrial stations that are the final steps to readying the satellite. The satellite wil...

This week the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) pledged US$3 million to upgrade the country's national parks, which will be invested over the next three years, said tourism officials. The first allocation of a million dollars will be for Tenorio Volcano National Park, which was affected by Hurricane Otto last November, and Manuel Antonio National Park, the country's most visited park. The ...

The conditions and particularities of women's work, their additional burdens of reproductive and elder care-taking, as well as the persistent wage gap between men and women, among many other aspects, require the establishment of a lower retirement age for women, said findings presented by the Costa Rican judiciary's Gender Commission. Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, Alice Sha...

Costa Rica's Minister of Foreign Trade just returned with some good news from a recent visit to Beijing, said the Foreign Trade Ministry in a statement. Foreign Minister Alexander Mora together with the Costa Rica's Ambassador to China, Patricia Rodríguez, celebrated the countries 10 years of diplomatic relations during the recent visit. One of the main outcomes of the visit was a plan to es...

Both male and female condoms as well as lubricants will be handed out on Costa Rica's recently declared condom promotion day, said the Ministry of Health in a press statement. This year, Monday, September 4 marks the first year of what will become an annual event on that date to promote the use of condoms in the country. The country's public healthcare facilities will be handing out condoms ...

Private business sector leaders criticized the Costa Rican government for interfering with individuals' and businesses' right to chose the transportation service they wish to use as police continue to crack down on Uber drivers. Alonso Elizondo, executive director of the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce, is critical of a recent warning by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) to ...

For the first time, Costa Rica will present a concert of electronic, experimental and synthesizer music, as well as a workshop on creating such sounds, for children, announced the San José-based Alianza Francesa, or French Alliance, the French government's cultural center. The event organizers describe the event as involving "two semi-human and semi-plant characters will give a concert in the f...

The case of four medical doctors and a Greek businessman suspected of running an illegal organ trafficking operation out of Costa Rica is moving forward. The Office of the Prosecutor Against Organized Crime (FACDO, its initials in Spanish) cited 25 witnesses to appear in court to testify in the case. The Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) and Public Security Ministry uncovered t...

The so-called "morning after" pill can be used by women in most of the world as a form of emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy; but so far not legally in Costa Rica. For the third time the topic is under consideration by government medical authorities, reported the pharmaco-epidemiology committee of the Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS). The pill can be used by women for up t...

Experts from 15 countries will converge on San José, Costa Rica in October to share ideas and strategies on  sustainable tourism. The International Conference on Sustainable Tourism with its theme of Planet, People and Peace (P3), will feature exhibitors from Iceland, Holland, United States, Chile, Canada, Korea, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala and also from some African nations, said event or...

  While Costa Rica has managed to maintain an overall growth in exports, the industries experiencing the most decline in business are located outside the country's free trade zones, said economic experts, who say more across-the-board incentives are required to stimulate the country's exports. The Chamber of Exporters of Costa Rica (CADEXCO) said in a statement this week that export act...

As Costa Rica seeks to increase revenue from exports, various sectors are exploring ways to be more competitive, including the timber industry, said the  Costa Rican Trade Promotion Agency (Procomer). The agency's recent study, "The World Timber Market and Trends for Value-Added Products," recommended that the national timber sector develop ideas for new value-added products. According to th...

Regulations for drones in Costa Rica went into effect on August 13, and drone users have a 6-month window to comply, or face penalties, reported the Civil Aviation department last week. The regulations establish guidelines for the use of drones for recreational, institutional and commercial purposes. Those using drones must be do so in open areas, and ensure they are not within an 8 km radiu...

The U.S. government announced a contribution of more than US$38,500 for the preservation of the pre-Colombian spheres in Costa Rica's southern Delta del Diquis in the region of the Osa Peninsula. The funds will support a hydrological study to analyze the behavior of soils and layers of the earth's crust at the Finca 6 archaeological site where the surrounding rivers have covered evidence of the...

Helicopters used to transport people who need medical attention can now land on the northeast side of the Calderón Guardia Hospital  - a major public health facility near downtown San José, Costa Rica, announced Columbia Radio 98.7 FM this week. The first such transport took place over the weekend when a patient with an apparent heart problem was airlifted by medical helicopter from Santa Maria...

The Association of Bribris de Talamanca Indigenous Tourist Guides (Agitubrit), Costa Rica's first indigenous tourism agency, obtained official recognition from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) last week, said tourism authorities. According to the Technological Institute of Costa Rica (TEC), which provided guidance to the project, the recognition was granted August 4 in Suretka, Talamanca...

Starting September 1, stricter regulations on the amount of sulfur allowed in gasoline will go into effect, according to the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae) along with the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope). This and other measures announced last week at a press conference are aimed at improving air quality through the use of cleaner fuels. The changes will bring about a slight increa...

So far this year, Costa Rica's police forces have captured over 17.5 tons of cocaine, both in land and sea operations, informed the Public Security Ministry in the wake of an incident at the Moín, Limón port on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. On Thursday August 17, drug control police detained and inspected a ship where they discovered 50 kilos of cocaine attached to its hull, said the ministry. ...

Paquera, Puntarenas suffered damage to its dock last week when a ferry apparently crashed into it due to rough seas. The Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MOPT) said they are giving priority attention to the dock's repairs given its importance for transportation of people and goods between Puntarenas and the Paquera/Tambor region. The ferry company, Naviera Tambor, is providing ma...

The Costa Rican-North American Chamber of Commerce (or AmCham, as it is commonly referred to) issued a strong statement on social media in the wake of tragic race-related clashes in the United States, one of which, in Charlottesville, Virginia, left a protestor and two police officers dead last week. The business organization, whose spokesman, Dennis Whitelaw, said has a "trajectory for human r...

It's no coincidence that Costa Rica's rainiest months are August-October, with these corresponding to the Atlantic hurricane season, whose influence can often spread throughout the country. Right now on the horizon is Tropical Storm Harvey, making its way steadily westward. Forecasters are uncertain whether the system will gain or diminish strength over the weekend as it enters the Caribbean. ...

An as yet unidentified substance was used by an unidentified individual to color water in a large downtown San José, Costa Rica decorative fountain as a means of protest against environmental contamination, reported the Costa Rican digital news service Amelia Rueda this week. The act was described on social media as a protest against pollution caused by pineapple production in Costa Rica. Th...

Heavy rains that fell during much of yesterday in Costa Rica's northern region caused damages to some of the infrastructure at Tenorio Volcano National Park, and forcing a temporary closure, said a report on Teletica, Costa Rica's Channel 7 television news station. The park was closed all of yesterday, Thursday, August 17, and rangers hoped to be able to reopen the park - even if only partially...