International court orders removal of troops from protected wetlands

freshwater bull shark (credit: Terry Goss)

There’s been a bit of conflict brewing in South America with a border conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. It centres around the protected wetlands of Isla Calero and Nicaragua’s current dredging of the San Juan River. The International Courts of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has ordered Nicaragua to remove it’s troops but refused to order the stopping of the dredging as requested by Costa Rica.

River dredging raises tensions along border.

Last October Nicaragua began dredging the San Juan River and cutting a canal through it’s territories to provide for a shorter shipping channel that can be better maintained. As part of the project – and claims by Nicaragua of an anti-drug smuggling campaign – it stationed a couple of dozen soldiers on the northern tip of the Isla Calero. A small part of the island which Nicaragua claim is theirs under previous border agreements. Costa Rica disputes this claim and sent an additional 2,000 police officers to the island to support border agencies on the island, Costa Rica has no army. The Costa Rican government also began training an elite special forces section of the police to be sent to the disputed zone.

Interim ruling by International courts of Justice.

Costa Rica then began legal proceedings in The Hague against Nicaragua for illegal invasion of it’s territories and causing damage to a RAMSAR protected wetland through it’s dredging of the San Juan River. The full case will not be heard for another 3 or 4 years but yesterday the ICJ produced an interim ruling to try and defuse the situation. In the ruling they ordered that

• Nicaragua should remove their troops from the disputed zone,
• Costa Rica should remove their police from the area and only authorised environmental protection agents should be stationed in the area,
• Both sides should refrain from any action that could lead to an escalation of the dispute,
• Nicaragua can continue with dredging operations but environmental officers must be able to monitor the impacts of the dredging.

Dredging to improve eco-tourism in Nicaragua.

The dredging of the San Juan River is part of an ecotourism plan that is being set in motion by the Nicaraguan government to help alleviate extreme poverty in the region. The rain forests that the San Juan river runs through are probably some of the few remaining large stretches of rain forest that is still in a truly wild state. As part of the plan the Nicaraguan tourist authorities have requested that the river is navigable year round – the reason for the current dredging.

Once the dredging has been completed a new 120 mile long ‘Water Route” will be established that will allow tourist boats and trips from San Juan de Nicaragua to Lake Nicaragua and the Ometepe Islands. Villages along the north shore of the river – in Nicaraguan territory – are already eagerly awaiting this new potential source of revenue. But this is not just a project that could benefit the Nicaraguans. While the river is in Nicaraguan territory the Costa Ricans have rights to use the river for commercial shipping and this new year round waterway could be as beneficial to the southern shore of the river.

The Nicaraguan government are taking this project very seriously. While they do not have a great deal of experience or infrastructure for eco-tourism they are prepared to invest heavily into the industry. A new airport is being planned for the southern reaches of the San Juan River to help tourists to get to this remote region. 2010 saw tourist visitors to Nicaragua exceed 1 million for the first time and rhe industry is expanding at between 10% and 16% annually. The president, Daniel Ortega, has stated that his aim is to use tourism as a major weapon in his fight against poverty in the country.

Nicaragua has protected over 20% of it’s land for nature and it is thought to contain over 7% of the world’s species, making it one of the worlds best hot-spots for nature lovers. Tourism is now the main industry in Nicaragua having exceeded the earnings from coffee in 2005. The new ‘Water Route’ will be a major ecotourism destination that could further improve the lives of many along the river.

River is part of the Ecocanal scheme.

The dredging of the San Juan River is also needed for the success of the EcoCanal project that will see a freight rail link for containerised cargo overland from a new deep water port on the Atlantic across to the Pacific. the EcoCanal projects has been given permission to run commercial barge traffic along the river. The project will see an overland connection between the established Pacific port of Corinto and a new port being built at Monkey Point on the Atlantic coast.

Both sides claim victory in court decision.

Both sides have claimed victory in this ruling by the ICJ. Costa Rica says that the order for Nicaragua to remove their troops from Isla Calero justifies their action and claims in the court while Nicaragua said the ruling that permits them to continue the dredging shows that the Costa Ricans claims that extensive damage to protected wetlands were false. The court also refused the request of the Costa Ricans to stop the opening of the new channel that has been built.