Costa Rica will increase surveillance in national parks during the Catholic Holy Week holiday to prevent environmental crimes, the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) announced.

Most public-sector institutions in Costa Rica will close nonessential services from March 29 through April 5 in observance of Holy Week. As a result, many state employees will receive a weeklong holiday, a period that typically boosts tourism in rural and coastal communities and increases visits to the country’s national parks.

According to SINAC, park visitation tends to rise during the holiday period. Authorities say some visitors remove plants or even wild animals from protected areas, sometimes attempting to keep them as pets. More serious offenses include illegal logging, hunting and building campfires inside protected zones.

Park rangers, supported by officers from the Ministry of Public Security, will step up patrols inside and around national parks beginning March 28. The surveillance operation will include road checkpoints, visitor monitoring and marine patrols designed to prevent forest fires, illegal logging and illegal hunting.


More than 650 SINAC staff members will be stationed on roads near national parks to provide drivers with information on fire prevention and the legal consequences of wildlife poaching.

The agency said more than $35,000 has been allocated for the special surveillance operation. The funds will cover food and transportation expenses for personnel.

Authorities are also asking the public to report suspected wildlife trafficking or illegal captivity. Anyone who believes a wild animal is being trafficked, kept in captivity or sold illegally can call SINAC’s hotline at 1192 or file a report through the “Denuncias SINAC” section on the agency’s official website.

Under Wildlife Conservation Law No. 7317, hunting, trading or keeping wild animals in captivity is strictly prohibited. Violators may face fines ranging from $600 to $26,000 or prison sentences of one to three years.

Authorities this week urged residents and tourists to help report wildlife crimes, noting that enforcement resources are limited across the country. Officials said public assistance is critical to identifying cases in which animals are being held illegally.

SINAC is the government agency responsible for managing Costa Rica’s national parks and protected areas.