By
the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The government
announced improvements in the
Manuel Antonio National Park,
located in Quepos*, in
the province of Puntarenas,
which allowed the cancel of the
sanitary restriction imposed by
the Ministry of Health.
Pamela Castillo, Vice Minister of
Environment, said "the
improvements in the wastewater
treatment system in beach #3, was
key to recovering the number of
visitors."
The elimination of the restriction
allows park rangers to admit a
maximum of 2,700 tourists per day.
During the restriction order, only
1,700 tourists per day could
enter.
In addition to the improvements in
the treatment of wastewater, ten
portable toilets have been placed
on the beach and ten additional
park rangers have been hired.
According to the managers of
Manuel Antonio National Park
Trust, ideas to improve management
of the income from the sale of
tickets are still pending.
Another change that is still
pending is the extraction of
solids and liquids from septic
tanks more frequently. Several
companies have made donations to
finance this work including
Coopealizanza (¢3 million colones
or about $5,010), Hotel Costa
Verde (¢300,000 colones, about
$501), same amount was donated
by Hotel San Bada made
and the Association of Friends of
the Manuel Antonio National Park
(¢250,000 colones, about $417).
The hiring of a company to design
and construct the remaining
wastewater treatment systems is
still pending. Park administrators
have estimated that they will
begin to build new bathrooms in
August.
Another commitment that is still
pending is the hiring of the
company to develop a ticket
booking system online. Park
managers have scheduled this
service sometime in the second
semester of this year.
"The commitment we have is to
improve the conditions of this and
all our protected areas, this for
the benefit of biodiversity, the
economy of the country, our
officials and the thousands of
tourists who decide to visit us,"
said Castillo.
Before these improvements were
made, as A.M. Costa Rica reported
on February 27, the National
Chamber of Tourism described the
conditions of the park as shameful
and demanded that park authorities
take immediate action to restore
the park.
Shirley Calvo, director of the
Chamber, said the park generates
significant income for the
government and that the government
should reinvest some of that money
into solving the problems in the
park.
"We must put a stop [to
deterioration] now. This is the
most visited park, which generates
more income to the government and
this is the reason why many
tourists come to Costa Rica," she
said.
The
Chamber points out that some of
the major problems are: the
current ticket purchase system,
the long lines at the park
entrance, the uncertainty of
tourists who do not know if they
will be able to enter the park,
the unhealthy conditions in the
bathrooms and the deficient
wastewater treatment systems that
have an environmental impact on
the park.
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The Chamber
believes that there
has been a passive and
negligent attitude on
the part of managers
of the park, who have
seen the same problems
reoccur without
providing permanent
solutions. This has
resulted in
denunciations and the
closure of the park on
several occasions.
According to Calvo, it
is clear that a
comprehensive and
final solution has
been postponed for a
decade. The problems
are repetitive and
exhausting for
entrepreneurs who
struggle to improve
conditions and the
quality of their
services.
"We are aware that the
National System of
Conservation Areas has
been working for a
solution for more than
6 months, however, the
problems occur today
and every day and we
do not see that the
managers are taking
immediate actions to
solve them," said
Bald.
The Chamber says it
has received
complaints from
businessmen because
tourists have to wait
in long lines to buy
tickets or to enter
the park, while they
face the inconvenience
caused by street
sellers and expose
themselves to theft.
The Chamber is making
this public complaint
to demand that park
administrator to find
a definite solution to
all the problems faced
by the park and the
tourists who visit it.
Also in January,
Legislator Carmen Chan
denounced a series of
problems at Manuel
Antonio National Park
that are affecting
tourists.
"Although these areas
provide significant
income to the
government and promote
the image of the
country, the
government does not
take actions or make
use of institutional
instruments, so in
recent years Manuel
Antonio Park has been
experiencing a series
of problems," said
deputy Chan.
A major problem
mentioned by Deputy
Chan is wastewater
treatment. She stated
that there is no safe
and suitable place for
waste from the
bathrooms – sewage –
to be contained and
treated. This will
eventually cause an
irreversible impact on
the environment of the
protected area.
According to Deputy
Chan’s accusation, an
urgent work plan
should be coordinated
among several
institutions to solve
the problems in the
park.
"It is necessary to
implement a
coordinated action
plan among public
institutions such as
the Ministry of
Environment, the
Ministry of Security,
the Ministry of
Health, and the
Municipality, with the
important
participation of
private companies,"
said Deputy Chan.
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Have
you ever visited
Manuel Antonio Park
lately? Did you find
problems during your
visit? We would
like to know your
thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
*Link
to reach the place
map.
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