Costa Rica’s Role in Protecting the Oceans

“The ocean is fundamental to life on our planet and to our future. The ocean is an important source of the planet’s biodiversity and plays a vital role in the climate system and water cycle. The ocean provides a range of ecosystem services, supplies us with oxygen to breathe, contributes to food security, nutrition and decent jobs and livelihoods, acts as a sink and reservoir of greenhouse gases and protects biodiversity, provides a means for maritime transportation, including for global trade, forms an important part of our natural and cultural heritage, and plays an essential role in sustainable development, a sustainable ocean-based economy and poverty eradication.” This is a quote from the political declaration issued at the UN Ocean Conference in 2022.

Around 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean, and only 29 per cent is covered by land mass. Initially only used for fishing, the sea has seen the development of important trade routes over the course of human history. This development has ultimately been accompanied by military activity with the formation of huge merchant fleets and war fleets. Systematic exploration of the oceans is a relatively recent phenomenon, leading to rich deposits of raw materials being discovered and to oil, sand and gravel being extracted. One current subject of controversial debate is deep-sea mining, which seeks to extract rare earths and manganese from the seabed. The consequences of such interventions in the ocean ecosystem were long unknown and/or ignored. As a seemingly inexhaustible resource, the ocean was also used as a sink for toxic waste. Today, the oceans contain ammunition remnants, sunken ships and pollutants as well as both domestic and industrial waste.

In addition, the warming of the world’s oceans as a result of man-made climate change has led to further damage, with the oceans having been impacted by factors such as coral death, rising sea levels, acidification caused by increased absorption of CO₂ and an increasing lack of oxygen.

The impact on the climate affects all countries without exception. Therefore, it is essential for nations to join forces in tackling the challenges and coming up with solutions. Since 1995, the Climate Change Conferences (COP) have become established as important events attended by representatives of states and civil society. Even though their immense costs are certainly controversial, as are the constantly increasing numbers of attendees (and the environmental impact of CO₂ emissions that this causes), such conferences are nevertheless the primary setting in which all parties to the UN Climate Convention are able to articulate their needs and discuss the progress that is being made in connection with climate change.

In 2015, after years of difficult negotiations, the global community agreed to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN Sustainable Development Summit, including “Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. Based on this agreement, a UN conference – called the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) – was held for the first time in 2017 at the UN headquarters in New York with a sole focus on Goal 14. The second UNOC was held in Lisbon in 2022 – two years later than planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference that is currently planned for 9 to 13 June 2025 in Nice will be the third UN Ocean Conference and is to be jointly hosted by Costa Rica and France.

As co-host, Costa Rica has the opportunity to boost its reputation as a sustainability leader, to make its mark on the global stage and to expand its influence in the field of international environmental policy.

Costa Rica – A Pioneer in Environmental and Climate Action

With coastlines on both the Pacific and the Atlantic, Costa Rica has long been committed to marine conservation and is a trailblazer in sustainability. In 2024, representatives from several countries gathered in San José, Costa Rica, to prepare for the UN Ocean Conference, with 26 nations signing a “Peace for the Ocean Declaration”: Apart from the host countries of France and Costa Rica, these nations included Germany, Spain, Sweden, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Israel and South Korea. In the declaration, the countries commit to upholding existing international agreements, such as the Kunming–Montreal Global Diversity Framework; to accelerating decision-making and to pushing forward the implementation of ongoing initiatives, including a potential UN plastics treaty based on UN Resolution 5/14. The countries additionally pledge to implement national and regional sustainable blue economy strategies, to expand marine protected areas at both national and regional levels and to establish conservation zones on the high seas.

Costa Rica achieved the goal of placing 30 per cent of its marine area under protection as early as in 2021. It should be noted that a large portion of Costa Rica’s national territory is made up of marine areas since this territory also includes Cocos Island, which is situated 532 kilometres off the coast. Costa Rica’s economy was long dominated by agriculture and livestock farming, with three-quarters of its forests having been cleared. However, things have changed since the 1980s, with comprehensive reforestation programmes having been implemented and numerous national parks and protected areas having been established. It is thanks to this change in perspective that Costa Rica has gained its reputation as a “green country” and established itself as a Central American hotspot for ecotourism.

Is Everything That Glitters Really Green?

Despite its green image, the model country also has its fair share of problems. Costa Rica has extensive water reserves, and the country’s water reservoirs are replenished almost all year round by rainfall, which at times can be very heavy. Indeed, Costa Rica is home to the location with the third-highest amount of rainfall in the world. However, even though this means that the country’s water supply is sound, with 90 per cent of the population having access to clean drinking water, Costa Rica still has deficits in terms of its water supply and wastewater disposal. Large quantities of drinking water are being lost due to dilapidated infrastructure, for example, while the number of interruptions to the water supply increased tenfold in the period from 2015 to 2023. Many households are not connected to the sewage system and instead generally maintain sealed pits in which wastewater is collected and that – in the best-case scenario – are periodically emptied, with the wastewater being transported to treatment plants, where it is processed for re-use. However, employees of water treatment plants suspect that large quantities of wastewater are disposed of illegally and are discharged untreated into rivers only to later end up directly in the sea. At the country’s narrowest point, the Pacific and the Atlantic are just 150 kilometres apart, while the longest river in the country measures just 160 kilometres. In 2024, the national water supplier Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) presented a plan to protect water resources and reduce water loss while at the same time improving and expanding the existing water supply and disposal infrastructure.

Another issue is the high use of pesticides in Costa Rica that is reported to be one of the world’s most excessive users of pesticides. Alongside modern techniques, pesticides that are known to be harmful to health – and that in some cases have already been banned – are still in use. When applied to fields, these substances enter the groundwater, rivers and oceans.

Costa Rica also has deficits in the area of waste disposal, which is not regulated in 30 per cent of municipalities. In the Limón region, for instance, which is a coastal region in the Caribbean, the rate of waste collection is just 40 per cent. This fact has a direct impact on the cleanliness of the sea, with 60 to 80 per cent of marine pollution worldwide having been estimated to be caused by contamination from land-based activities.

With the aim of incentivising the population to reduce and recycle waste, in 2018, a system known as ecolones was introduced, which is a public–private partnership that now operates under the name ecoin. By collecting and handing in re-usable materials, citizens can acquire so-called ecoins and manage them via an app. These ecoins can then later be used in an “e-shop” to purchase sustainable products from selected manufacturers. This process raises consumers’ awareness of the issue of sustainability while at the same time enabling them to contribute actively to environmental protection.

Another successful programme is Bandera Azul Ecológica (Ecological Blue Flag). The Blue Flag is an internationally established award for beaches and for municipalities located near the coast. Thus far, 51 countries have joined this initiative: Costa Rica did so in 1996, and since then more than 135 of its beaches have been awarded the Blue Flag. Criteria include the cleanliness of the drinking water (15 per cent) and seawater (35 per cent) in the region, but other aspects are also taken into account in the assessment, such as the recycling of grey water (15 per cent), the provision of waste containers (10 per cent) and the implementation of environmental education measures (10 per cent).

In order to protect the oceans, the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy – together with the Ministry of Health – presented the Plan Nacional de Residuos Marinos 2021–2030 (National Plan to Combat Marine Pollution). With the aim of improving the living conditions of the population and protecting the marine ecosystem, various sectors were involved in the plan’s conception. In addition to waste prevention and the management of waste that has already been deposited, the agenda also includes environmental education and awareness-raising among the population. Control mechanisms are to be established to monitor progress in the improvement and re-naturalisation of ecosystems, while efforts are also being made to ensure closer collaboration with the governments of other countries in the region and with international organisations.

The plan explicitly highlights the negative consequences of marine pollution, and these consequences go beyond environmental policy concerns since there are also socio-economic implications. Families in coastal regions whose income depends on fishing are particularly affected by marine pollution, as is the tourism sector, which in Costa Rica is very much oriented towards the country’s natural treasures and biodiversity. Despite covering a surface area of just 51,060 square kilometres, Costa Rica is home to nearly half a million species, which represent between five and six per cent of the world’s biodiversity. In comparison, Germany’s land area is roughly seven times larger, but only 71,500 species have been identified there. Fishing and tourism likewise pollute the oceans. According to studies, lost or inadequately discarded fishing nets – so-called “ghost nets” – account for up to 50 per cent of marine plastic. Shipping traffic releases particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere and the sea in addition to packaging waste and faeces. Because tourism encroaches on wildlife refuge areas, it can affect species in their habitat and disturb their resting areas. Accordingly, the National Plan clearly points out that failing to protect the environment, climate and species today will result in far higher costs in the future.

The National Plan to Combat Marine Pollution also emphasises the importance of innovation in this regard. In order to avoid single-use plastic, for instance, extensive databases are available with details of novel substitutes, for which such items as sugar cane, waste products from the coffee industry and avocado pits are used as a basis. A list of raw materials that can be used instead of plastic has been compiled in recent years, and this work is to be continued: Indeed, small though it is, Costa Rica already has more than 35 listed suppliers of such alternative products. An active dialogue with the science community is also recognised as a key requirement for the further development of measures and the relevant impact assessment, while the implementation of the ten-year plan is intended to ensure continuity beyond changes of government.

However, the Informe Estado de la Nación (State of the Nation Report) – published in November 2024 – indicates that progress has stalled in recent years. The government that came to power in May 2022 under President Rodrigo Chaves has been accused of damaging the country’s historically green image and jeopardising its pioneering position. Throughout almost ten legislative terms, Costa Rica pursued a clear course with regard to nature conservation, but in the political discourse, environmental protection is now increasingly framed as a barrier to economic growth. Progressive decisions have also been rolled back in the area of marine conservation in this regard: Protected zones have been reduced, trawling is set to be reintroduced and more than 200 species have been approved for fishing, including turtles, sea cucumbers and marine iguanas. However, the report does highlight some positive developments: In mid-2024, the legislative assembly approved a proposal to protect coastal biodiversity. This plan includes a fund for payments to support marine ecosystem services in coastal areas that aims to provide financial assistance for fishers who work in coastal and water conservation.

The press and nature conservation organisations criticised the fact that President Chaves failed to mention the issues of climate change and nature conservation in his May 2024 address and in the corresponding report on his second year in office, or only referred to them in passing in connection with other areas. The almost-140-page report contains nine focus areas, but these topics are not among them.

Named after Escazú, the Costa Rican town where it was signed on 4 March 2018, one of the most important regional environmental protection agreements to date came into force in 2021. Many of the countries involved held back due to the scope of the agreement since they feared that their powers would be restricted too much in decisions that intervene in the natural environment, thereby placing economic interests above environmental protection. Even the host country of Costa Rica was among those that hesitated when it came to signing the agreement.

In February 2023, Costa Rica’s legislative assembly finally voted against continuing the accession process. The reason stated was that the regulations enshrined in Costa Rican law were already far-reaching enough and adequately reflected the requirements set out in the agreement. However, this decision sends out a powerful signal, and not just at the national level: Indeed, for other Latin American countries that have not yet completed the ratification process or that have not yet signed the agreement, there are now fewer incentives to continue the process.

The Ocean Decade and UNOC

On the international stage, President Rodrigo Chaves continues to align with the established narrative of Costa Rica as a model nation. At the meeting of high-level politicians in San José in June 2024 in preparation for UNOC-3, he expressed his hope that Costa Rica’s accomplishments in marine conservation would be recognised as examples of good practice that could serve the international community.

Held as part of the UN Decade of the Ocean (2021–2030), the preparatory meeting for the conference was entitled “Immersed in Change”. The aim was to achieve a sustainable approach to the oceans by identifying and promoting innovative and sustainable solutions. Under the motto “The Science We Need for the Ocean We Want”, action strategies, international research projects and educational campaigns are to support the goal of restoring clean oceans by 2030, thereby enabling them to be used sustainably and to serve as a habitat for species while at the same time being available for economic development.

One such measure is the establishment of a global ocean observation system for pooling the necessary information. This system will enable early warning systems to be developed that are capable both of identifying extreme weather events and tsunamis at an early stage and of monitoring the spread of invasive species or other threats to biodiversity. There are additionally plans to create a digital twin of the ocean – that is, a dynamic virtual image – that will provide free access to comprehensive scientific data. Central goals of the Ocean Decade are “Clean Ocean” and “Healthy and Resilient Ocean”. The focus is on preventing the discharge of pollutants and on rehabilitating the ocean habitat. The importance of the targeted use of research and innovation is also clearly emphasised in this connection.

A milestone on the way to achieving these goals will be the UNOC-3 Ocean Conference, which is to be held in Nice in June 2025 and where efforts will also focus on securing commitment and advancing voluntary pledges on the part of participating states. SDG 14 is currently the most underfunded United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. According to the German KfW bank, the global financing gap is estimated to be 150 billion US dollars per year. The motto of the conference in Nice is “Accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean”. However, without further financial commitments, this motto will be difficult to put into practice.

Therefore, the topic of financing is likely to be one of the most controversial issues, just as it is at the Climate Change Conferences. The relevant passage in the initial draft of the final declaration of UNOC-3 is rather vague and does not refer to any concrete pledges. Although more funding is recognised to be urgently needed, the subsequent wording tends to focus on the idea of “encouragement”: The private sector – including banks, insurers and investors – is to focus its investments more on the transition towards a sustainable ocean-based economy, with particular emphasis being given to the importance of non-governmental organisations and private donors. As a result, more far-reaching financial commitments to ocean protection cannot be expected at the state level. Nevertheless, the conference has a crucial role to play in reinforcing the importance of protecting the oceans as a fundamental resource for human life both by raising political awareness and – through global media coverage – by fostering a broader public understanding of the issue.

The report of the Ocean Panel, a Norwegian-initiated body set up in 2018 for the sustainable management of oceans, coasts and coastal areas, puts it in a nutshell: “Health, prosperity and well-being of the world and its people depend on the ocean”. Given that the world is now more interconnected than ever, this means that protecting the oceans is an urgent challenge that concerns every country and every individual. International conferences cannot solve all the problems, but they are important platforms for raising awareness, highlighting the importance of the topic and providing the necessary impetus for further action at the political, economic, scientific and social level.

At UNOC-3, Costa Rica has the opportunity to make its mark on international environmental policy once again, reinforcing its good reputation in terms of ocean conservation. What is more, presidential elections are due to be held in the country in 2026: A change of government would offer Costa Rica another chance to take a stronger stand in favour of environmental protection and to credibly defend its role as a green country.

– translated from German –

Julia Sandner is Director of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Office in Costa Rica. Until December 2024, she headed the Regional Programme Energy Security and Climate Change in Latin America, based in Lima.

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