Topic
Legal
10 articles
Articles tagged with this topic across every collection on the site.
What One Clause Has Stopped
One clause in a 1996 law has been used to undo forest converted to pasture, crops, houses, roads, and even a drug plantation across Costa Rica.
Zoned Agricultural, Covered in Forest
Forested land in Osa is being subdivided as farmland, at a lot-size minimum four times smaller. The municipality treats the label as a formality; the courts already said it cannot.
When Plantations Become Forests
The Sala IV ruled abandoned timber plantations can become legally protected forest. Nineteen years and seven failed reform bills later, the law has not changed.
Once a Forest, Always a Forest
Article 19 of the Forestry Law lets you build on forest land. Criminal courts say clearing it cannot change its legal status. The Procuraduría resolved the contradiction in 2009.
The Numbers Game
Costa Rica regulates forest development with percentage caps: 10 percent of forest, 25 percent of farms. The percentages may be measuring the wrong thing.
Loopholes You Could Drive a Resort Through
Costa Rica's 1996 Forestry Law banned private forest clearing. Developers found a 2-hectare loophole and learned to fragment their permits.
Costa Rica's Biodiversity Law: Legal Shields for Endangered Species
Document a jaguar or macaw on threatened land? You've just invoked Resolution 092-2017 protecting 322+ species, while the precautionary principle puts burden of proof on developers.
Costa Rica's Most Important Conservation Laws
Article 50 establishes a revolutionary principle where every citizen can defend the environment. Your complete guide to every conservation law that matters.
Water Law as Conservation's Hidden Weapon
Water concessions approved by measuring spring flow for 60 seconds on one day, without seasonal monitoring or sustainability studies. Why water law violations are easiest to prove and hardest for developers to wiggle out of.
Do You Need an Environmental Attorney?
Many complaints don't need lawyers, but complex cases do. When to DIY, when to hire help, and how to fundraise for legal costs.