Controversial airport is planned for Costa Rica. Concern about ecology in project backed by Chinchilla

In a region of Costa Rica that harbors 3 percent of the world’s known biodiversity, a proposed international airport is eliciting concern about ecological consequences and potential damage to an existing and exemplary network of ecotourism lodges.

On the Osa Peninsula, a hooking promontory on the southwest Pacific coast, the airport is planned for a site only three miles from the Térraba-Sierpe Wetland, a recognized Wetland of International Importance with annual ecosystem services valued near $2 billion.

Since last October when Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla designated the project one “of national importance,” promoting its ability to fight poverty and create jobs, the government has moved quickly to conduct preliminary impact studies and lay a foundation for permitting.

Original source: New York Times