Costa Rica today signed two agreements with the non-governmental organizations WildAid and MarViva to strengthen the conservation, management and protection of the marine wealth of Cocos Island.
The Cocos Marine Conservation Area (ACMC), the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae) signed alliances with WildAid, an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States, focused on reducing the demand for wildlife products.
Likewise, with MarViva, a regional non-governmental entity, whose area of action is in selected areas of the Eastern Tropical Pacific to proactively manage the marine and island space.
Rich Marine life
The Minae highlighted that Isla del Coco is home to 1,690 marine species, 45 of them endemic; while he reiterated that Costa Rica is a country by the sea, with an oceanic zone almost 10 times greater than its land area.
Therefore, it stressed, these agreements ratify the importance of protecting, not only the home of thousands of species of flora and fauna, but also one of the most important natural attractions to boost the national economy through the sustainable use of marine resources.
Technical assistance and training
The interim head of the Minae, Franklin Paniagua, specified that the agreement with WildAid will facilitate technical assistance and training in the next five years to strengthen the control and surveillance actions of SINAC-ACMC and other marine-coastal protected areas.
Meanwhile, the one signed with MarViva will generate benefits in aspects of the management and ordering of the marine and insular space, the strengthening of capacities for conservation, management and marine management, scientific research and monitoring of biodiversity.
