Los Cabos, BCS. _ When Cynthia Barzuna was appointed as Deputy Minister of Water and Ocean Affairs of Costa Rica by 2021, the country had a regulation that did not favor the care of the environment. environment. That, he said, had to change.
He undertook a campaign to make the land-use planningbased on the measurement of environmental impact in order to find the balance between conservation and sustainable development.
"What we did is that each municipality has to approve prior to zoning its territory the environmental viability," he explained during his participation in the panel Oceans and cities: Perspectives and Challenges, during the Summit 2024 convened by Foro Mar de Cortés.
"This is positive, this involves environmental mapping, a series of layers that tell us where the vulnerable areas are from an environmental point of view, where the opportunities are but also the challenges, where we should focus that development."
Barzuna left the Vice-Ministry and became the Director of Ocean Action 2030but is closely following the plan he implemented.
He pointed out that the changes in the land use regulation helped the inhabitants of Costa Rica could be integrated into the cities in a close and dynamic way, reducing poverty and marginalization rates.
However, carrying out this public policy was not an easy task, as it involved synergies with fishermen, private companies, indigenous communities and inhabitants of the cities of Costa Rica.
To date, at least 50 of the country's 82 municipalities have approved environmental plans with a vision of territorial recovery.
The result is a successful model of environmental protection, with a 100 percent doubled reforestation rate and the protection of 30 percent of the maritime territory that has been converted into natural areas.
As a result, business models have changed in the country, integrating the perspective of environmental care and the integration of communities in conservation efforts.
