Groups in Liberia will be asking for changes and amendments to the Liberia Municipality’s “gold coast” regulatory plan

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Translator: Arianna Hernández

An initiative by the Municipality of Liberia to allocate part of the green areas for the development of hotels, real estate and commercial facilities for the needs of luxury tourism raises doubts and fears among Liberians. Some plan to unite their voices to have their opinions taken into account.

“This is a topic that interests us very much because of the entire history of socio-economic conflicts that surround this golden coast,” said Víctor Hugo Chacón of the Association for Integral Development in Barrio San Roque, Liberia.

Through this association, The Liberian is looking for a forum where more people can learn about the city’s initiative and comment on it. Chacón said the municipality has not yet set dates for further meetings with communities, although it plans to organize them.

Chacón stressed that he is not against creating a regulatory plan for the canton. What they are looking for is to propose changes in local government initiatives.

The “Golden Coast” is included in the preliminary proposal of the Spatial Development Plan (Spanish acronym: POT), called the regulatory plan, by which the municipality tries to organize the development of the canton. Regulatory plans specify what can and cannot be done in each area (homes, businesses, industries, services, agriculture or industries).

The implementation of POT in Liberia began in late 2022, when the contract was awarded to consulting company Ecoplan SRL. However, the first draft documents and maps were published in mid-April.

From then on and after article published by The Voice of Guanacasteseveral Liberian civil society organizations were closely watching the city government’s proposal earmarking 6,000 hectares of what is currently forested areas with cliffs and spectacular ocean views for tourism activities.

The regulatory plan calls this exclusive area the “gold coast”. If approved, the strip that currently looks like a green blanket over the coast of Guanacaste would become a gray zone with buildings All kinds. It would even be profitable to locate a sports stadium there.

We are very concerned because there is enormous latitude in terms of what is proposed to be done with the Gold Coast. This is an open window to promote gentrification,” Chacón commented.

Gentrification is the displacement of the original communities in an area by others who arrive with more resources. This is precisely the concern expressed by some in Liberia regarding the future of the gold coast.

Protected area under review

Damaris Rodríguez from the Association for the Saving of the Maritime Land Zone (Spanish acronym: AZERROMATE) stated that this organization will press for a regulatory plan to clearly designate and respect protected areassuch as the Iguanita Nature Reserve.

As published in The Voice of Guanacaste on May 17The 6,000 hectares (14,826 acres) proposed as the Gold Coast include the Iguanita Wildlife Sanctuary, a legally protected area. On this occasion, the chairman of the Regulatory Plan Committee, Mr. José Rafael Jiménez, who is responsible for urban planning and construction control in the Municipality of Liberia, she admitted that she had received an observation about it and should have ruled it out.

When asked about this again, the official explained that a technician from the municipality and another from the National System of Protected Areas (Spanish acronym: SINAC) they analyze the demarcation of Iguanita and “many other things”.

Sometimes people get angry, but the important thing is that we get a lot of feedback and incorporate it (into the plan). When we put the information back (on the website), it will be much better and more accurate,” he said.

Of course, this update to the proposal will not be made until the Regulatory Plan Commission is sworn in. This process has been ongoing since the newly elected commune council took power on May 1.

The resumption of the plan’s socialization meetings with communities and other focus groups in the canton also depends on this pledge. For now, these meetings are suspended, although the city’s technical staff continues to work on the POT.

“Don’t think that we are secretly cooking a magic potion that will cut down all the trees in the canton. “No, no, we are working,” Jiménez emphasized.

Possible deforestation caused by the investment on the Gold Coast is precisely the issue that worries Damaris Rodríguez from AZERROMATE.

They talk about terrible things, they talk about allowing any chance. Of course, to create a playing field, you have to deforest…. If they don’t plan the development of the coast in line with what’s there, they’ll “let them fly as they please,” she said.

Rodríguez added that these concerns are shared by other Liberian civil society groups such as Ecological Park and Confraternidad Guanacasteca Association. Members of these organizations plan to meet to form a united front and draw up a document to present their comments to the commune.

In addition to the gold coast, Liberia’s regulatory plan proposes the creation of five other special zones. These are historical zone, academic zone, institutional zone and airport. They are called special areas because they concentrate activities with specific characteristics and needs, and they also anticipate the development of construction in the future.

The proposal also divides the canton into six large areas or transects, stretching from the most urban zones (Transect 6) to the green and most rural zones (Transect 1). In these transects, several types of production or commercial activities with certain similarities can be combined, and the degree of participation will be regulated.

You can consult draft diagnostic documents and maps for spatial development applications on the commune’s website in this tab. And if you have questions, observations, recommendations or proposals regarding the plan, you can send them by e-mail: (email protected)

Similarly, on the commune’s website AND Facebook pageyou can check the dates and locations of the next meetings.