EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica imports and distributes a large amount of pesticides annually, representing a
consumption of nearly 18 kg of active ingredient per hectare cultivated. The drainage of these
substances into the Caribbean coastal environment is of particular concern owing to the presence
of national parks and wildlife habitats, wetlands, coral reefs, sea grass beds and sea turtle nests.
The presence of a circular current in the Caribbean Sea makes the management of the coastal
marine area of national and international interest.
The importation of pesticides as an active ingredient amounts to 8,000 metric tonnes per
year; 28% of these products are classified as moderately toxic to extremely dangerous for human
beings. Nearly a half of these imports are fungicides, while a quarter are part herbicides.
Agricultural activity is highly dependent on pesticides as the main agents for controlling pests
and illnesses.
The legal framework for the management of pesticides in Costa Rica regulates the
management, storage, registration, formulation, packaging, transport and commercialization,
intellectual property, labelling, leaks and pollution as well as the distribution of synthesized
chemicals. The General Health Law and the Law on Phytosanitary Protection and many other
regulations highlight the obligation of protecting the environment and human health from the
harmful effects of pesticides.
An analysis of this vast legal framework has shown that, in practice, there are variables
which limit its efficacy and effectiveness. Among these limitations are problems of control in
the management of pesticides, permissive and very loose legislation, unclear policies for the
registration of substances, little control over transportation, deficiencies in preventive
mechanisms, deregulatory processes which reduce State participation and an inadequate
framework for sanctions.
In an effort to analyse the use of pesticides within the Caribbean area, bank loans were
re-financed and surveys done on farms producing rice, banana, coffee, sugar cane, beans, ginger,
macadamia, corn, oranges, flowers, potatoes, fodder, plantain, pine and yam. It is estimated that
around 40% of the total amount of pesticides imported into the country is used in the region.
Adherence to measures for personal safety, maintenance and cleaning of equipment and
waste management is only marginally acceptable. The use of better management practices is
growing for crops such as banana, where various companies have received ISO 14001 and EKOOK certification. Through private initiatives and with the assistance of NGOs, organic
cultivation of vegetables, banana and cocoa has been growing although it still represents a small
percentage of the total area cultivated.
Not all the pesticides applied come into direct contact with pests or foliage. Some drift
through the atmosphere during application through aeolic action or through vaporization. They
also enter the soil through direct application, through hydric erosion of surrounding
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contaminated areas or they are carried by precipitation of residue present in the atmosphere and
vegetation. The degree of absorption of pesticides in the soil depends on the texture and content
of organic material.. The movement of toxic substances in the soil towards underground and
surface water is related to the availability of water, the type of soil and the properties of the
pesticide.
There is little data available on the presence of pesticides in surface and coastal fresh
water and studies have been done on only three basins in the northern Caribbean section: San
Juan, Tortuguero and Reventazón-Parismina. Other samplings have revealed the presence of
toxic substances used in the cultivation of banana, including their presence in marine organisms
in the Cahuita National Park.
In order to implement a national programme of action, it is proposed to promote a system
of agricultural extension, strengthen the existing training project, carry out research into
alternatives to the use of agrochemicals, introduce a system of computerized registration at the
cantonal level and the use of pesticides per crop in the areas cultivated, determine the areas of
greatest risk for run-off of toxic substances, analyse the use of fertilizers with regard to the
problem of eutrophication of surface bodies of water and establish measures for sampling and
monitoring of coastal waters in an effort to determine the distribution and effects of pesticides in
the Caribbean zone of Costa Rica.