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Does anyone have experience of setting a non govermental organization (NGO)in Costa Rica. I assume it will be a huge process! Its for a reforestation, education, carbon neutral project. Thanks.
I would strongly encourage you to please consult with a Costa Rican attorney who has experience in these matters. Legal advice will not be given in this forum.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comHi Alexgil, I don’t know what your mission statement is or why you would like to formulate an NGO out of CR, but besides the legal counsel, I would suggest you also consider speaking with representatives of MINAE (CR’s Ministry of Environment) since many of the existing CO2 capturing laws didn’t quite pan out the way many had hoped due to lack of government funds and other issues–and this has varied throughout the years. CR has many wonderful environmental laws and many are very difficult to enforce and/or fund. It would be important to know not only the legal issues concerning the areas you would like your NGO to cover, but also how they are actually enforced and viewed at this moment in time. If you need a contact, let me know, but you should be able to speak to someone from MINAE in every area of CR–just make sure you’re speaking with someone that actually deals with the issues that concern you, be specific and bring a translator if you don’t speak Spanish. Last I checked, CR bookstores have environmental laws compiled in a little booklet and it might be wise to purchase that also. Also, CR currently has a large number of existing environmental NGOs (ONGs en español) which struggle to stay afloat and find funds for their projects. The international community has re-categorized CR within the last 2 decades and they don’t assign as many funds to CR NGOs (of every kind) because they have diverted those funds to countries that are more impoverished so funding could get tricky. Of course, there are private endowments, GEF, IMF, World Bank, WWF (and others) and even gov’ts such as Finland & China that still designate funds for CR projects submitted by CR NGOs, but the funds are limited and the competition is strong. I don’t mean to sound negative, it’s just that I hope you will enter your new endeavor with both eyes open…Hope this helps…Pura Vida!
Oh, I forgot to add a very important factor to consider, now that CAFTA has been ratified, there are many pieces of environmental laws (among other kinds) that are up on the “chopping and auctioning block”–by this I mean that some serious changes have been proposed to these laws and some new laws must be voted on by the CR Legislature as per CAFTA (TLC). In general, many of the proposed changes will allow for “others” who have economic interests at stake to take advantage of the existing Costa Rican biodiversity. I just got a list from my friends at MINAE and it isn’t going to be pretty….We’ll just have to wait and see what this, as Ticos/as say, “arroz con mango” ends up looking like after all the voting dust in the Legislature has settled…I guess not so Pura Vida, but we can try to be hopeful….
Hey guys thanks for your comments. Its something I’ve been working with MINAE for over the past year in my region as we are located in the San Juan biological corridor and have been collaborating with 15 other conservation organizations to improve forest cover and conservation of biota in this area. I was hoping somebody out there had waded through the process and could offer support more than legal advise (sorry Scott, I’ll word my rambles better next time), its going to be an uphill struggle, especially with CAFTA at present. Thanks for your input rebaragon, you made good points. Pura vida.
Glad to hear you had already contacted MINAE–you might want to ask some of the orgs you’ve been working with about their experience setting up (if they’re NGOs). Sounds like really interesting work. I did research for GEF/IICA/CATIE in Talamanca that was linked with the Mesoamerican biological corridor and I will never forget that experience. I’m trying to get a hold of some personal contacts, but a lot of people are out on the field and it’s hard from Jersey and I’ve been out of the field for few yrs, but I will write again when I have more info. I don’t know this org personally, but I’ve been told they do cooperate with other orgs regarding community & sustainability. Fundacion Accesso http://www.acceso.or.cr (there are some people there that speak English). Do you know them? I also called a friend in CR so that she can get the contact info for an American girl that works for Federacion Costarricense para la Conservacion del Ambiente (FECON)– both of these are NGOs and could give you an idea about starting your own–who knows, you may find ways to collaborate on some future project. Best of luck with this wonderful journey. Pura Vida!
Dear Alexgil, I hope this helps–My friend and “concuña” (my sister’s sister-in-law) Beatriz Sequeira works in ANAI and she recommended that you speak with Lic. Rosa Bustillo, she’s an attorney and is also the current president of the Biological Corridor Talamanca-Caribbean and has helped many orgs/NGOs establish themselves in Limon and I’m sure she could help you in the San Juan area even if it’s at the other extreme of CR. Her email is: rbustillo@corredortalamanca.org, she has an office near Escuela Laboratorio in Vargas Araya, San Pedro (near San Jose)and her telephone number is: 253-8582. Best of luck…Rebeca
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