The Santa Cruz, Guanacaste municipal government swore in a new set of leaders for its environmental commission this week. Representative from 24 local organizations, autonomous institutions, ministries and private sector companies will be coordinating the area’s environmental agenda that includes recycling, reforestation, solid waste treatment, and water resource management, among other aspects.

As president of the commission will be Kathy Madrigal, from the Santa Cruz/Carrillo Subregional Office of the Tempisque Conservation Area which is under the purview of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). Hernán Imhoff, leader of the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism of Tamarindo will serve as Vice President; Maria Rosa Angulo, secretary, from the Rural Aqueduct of Lorena; and Luis Castillo from FundeCongo will serve treasurer.

The commission said their priority for the next two years during includes support for the tree project to protect the Nimboyor aquifer that will be administered by the Rural Aqueduct of Lorena in Santa Cruz.

“The only way to improve the environmental conditions of the canton is through the sum of the forces of many actors who are involved in making decisions that impact the area’s natural resources, in such a way to make better use of resources, which are scarce,” said Madrigal, who works as the Environmental Education Program Officer at the Santa Cruz / Carrillo Subregional Office of the Tempisque Conservation Area.

“Visitors increasingly value sites where water conservation, waste recycling and protection of sea water quality are implemented, so we must be in tune with that demand,” said Imhoff who said the region’s tourist companies were integrated into environmentally friendly development efforts through business strategies to decrease the impact on natural resource use.

Also forming part of the commission are the Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers, the State Distance  Learning University, the Diriá National Park, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, the National Institute of Insurance, the National Institute of Learning, the National Institute of Rural Development, the Ministry of Public Education and the police.