What is the Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper?

What is the Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper?  

We are a not-for-profit organization, without partisan affiliation, whose mission is to monitor, protect and restore the quality of the water in the coastal zone from the Cabo Blanco to the the Caletas-
Ario Wildlife Refuge.  

What do we do? 

• We take water samples from the rivers to generate an information base so that we can both understand and monitor changes in our waters; 
• We organize educational activities to raise awareness of the issues that we face in keeping our waters clean and protecting our environment; 
• We provide free assistance and education to homes and businesses in the management of residual waters; 
• We support a better management of waste in the town; 
• We co-ordinate together with Florblanca and Tropico Latino the Ecological Blue Flag program for our beaches; 
• We campaign for the enforcement of the law; 
• We fight for the health of our rivers and ocean.  

And we will be able to do more as we grow!

How are we Funded?

As a not-for-profit organization, we depend economically on donations.  We have received donations from individuals, from the Sangham Foundation (the foundation of a family committed to the environment), from the OEA-Organization of American States.  

Recently we started a Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper membership system - please see our website to find out how you can become a member and support the important work that we do.  

Financing is one of the biggest challenges that a not-for-profit organization faces.  

  

The Team

Our team comprises of two people that work for the Association - Carolina and Jepo - and a Board of Directors - Grey, Luis, Dahlia, Ana, Favio, Nicoya, Christina y Nat - all of whom support our organization on a voluntary basis.  The whole team is committed to the protection of our environment!

¿Quién es Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper?

¿Quién es Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper?

Somos una asociación sin fines de lucro sin afiliación partidista cuya misión es monitorear, proteger y restaurar la calidad del agua en la zona costera comprendida entre Cabo Blanco y el Refugio
Caletas-Ario.

¿Qué hacemos?

• Tomamos muestras de agua de los ríos para generar información de base e ir conociendo nuestras aguas;
• Organizamos actividades educativas para generar conciencia acerca de temas relacionados con el agua;
• Damos orientación gratuita acerca del manejo de aguas residuales;
• Apoyamos un mejor manejo de desechos en el pueblo;
• Coordinamos junto con Florblanca y Tropico Latino el Programa de Bandera Azul Ecológica de nuestras playas;
• Abogamos por el cumplimiento de la ley;
• Luchamos por la salud de nuestros ríos y mar.

Y podremos hacer más a medida que crecemos!

Como asociación sin fines de lucro dependemos económicamente de donaciones. Hemos recibido donaciones de personas particulares, de la Sangham Foundation, una fundación de una familia muy comprometida con el ambiente, de la OEA-Organización de Estados Americanos. 

Recientemente empezamos un sistema de membresías y activamos en nuestra página web la posibilidad de recibir donaciones via paypal.  El financiamiento es uno de los mayores retos de las ONGS.

El Equipo

Nuestro equipo se compone de dos personas que trabajan para la Asociación –Carolina y Jepo- y una Junta Directiva –Grey, Luis, Dahlia, Ana, Favio, Nicoya, Cristina y Nat- que apoya nuestras acciones de forma voluntaria. ¡Tod@s comprometid@s con el medio ambiente!

Stop the Illegal Mining of Rio Arias - please sign our petition to SETENA!

Please help us to stop the illegal mining of Rio Ario by signing our petition to SETENA.  

At the beginning of this month a company started work to mine materials from the bottom of the Ario River.  This company does NOT have a valid and up-to-date permit to carry out extraction of materials from this river.  

The mining is taking place very close to the Caletas-Ario Wildlife Refuge, with potentially damaging consequences for the delicate ecosystem of the Caletas wetlands and to the coastal marine life.  

SETENA did grant permits in December 2007, but these expired on the 12th January 2011.  Without an up-to-date permit, any mining
of the river is illegal.  

In order to be compliant with the law, the company must obtain new permits and undergo a new Environmental Viability study.  These laws are in place to protect the environment and wildlife from irreparable damage.  

Our petition asks for action from SETENA and from the Department of Geology and Mines (a department within the Ministry of Environment and Energy).  We ask them to bring a halt to this project and to cancel the mineral concession granted to this company because: 

(a)  Its permit expired on the 12th January 2011.  Work has started WITHOUT a valid permit.  

(b)  The company has failed to fulfill its obligations under the mining concession, among other things - abono del canon ambiental, boundary marking of the work to be undertaken and annual reporting.  

We demand that these institutions study and assess the location of this project for its potential impact on the coastal ecosystem.  The mining is planned to take place less than 1 kilometer from the river mouth.  The sedimentation from the mining could cause a dramatic decrease in the aquatic life of the area.  The site of extraction is very close to the Wildlife Refuge of Caletas-Ario and of the Caletas Wetland.  The marshes of Caletas are a fragile ecosystem and are home to a large number of important species of the area.  

A detailed and careful study of the environmental impact is required, in conformity with Costa Rican law.  

We support development, but only when undertaken in a sustainable manner and in full compliance with the environmental laws of Costa Rica.  

Please follow the link to sign the petition and share it with your friends - LINK TO PETITION

Note - SETENA is the governmental institution that assesses the environmental impact of any type of development.  

  

Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper es parte de un movimiento mundial que inició en 1966

Somos una organización sin fines de lucro creada recientemente en nuestro país, miembro de la Alianza Waterkeeper, una alianza de más de 240 organizaciones guardianes del agua alrededor del mundo. Esta Alianza agrupa a personas que se comprometen a luchar por tener agua apta para tomar, para nadar y para pescar.

La Alianza Waterkeeper empezó en 1966 en el Río Hudson en los Estados Unidos al unirse un grupo de pescadores locales para salvar el río formando la Asociación de Pescadores del Río Hudson. Estos pescadores lucharon fervientemente por hacer cumplir la ley con el apoyo de la ciudadanía, así lograron proteger su río, su fuente de ingresos y la salud de sus familias. Enfrentaron
a muchas de las compañías industriales contaminadoras y ganaron.

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica:  Photo - Carlos Palacios

En 1983, contrataron al primer guardián del agua Waterkeeper del Hudson para patrullar el río, restaurar la pesca y liderar la lucha de la sociedad civil por el cumplimiento de las leyes ambientales. Desde ese momento, el Hudson Riverkeeper ha hecho justicia forzando a los contaminadores a invertir cientos de millones de dólares en restaurar la salud del río Hudson. Su éxito estimuló el crecimiento de iniciativas comunitarias similares a nivel mundial. En 1999 se fundó la Alianza Waterkeeper para apoyar estas iniciativas. 

Hoy, la Alianza Waterkeeper es un movimiento ambientalista que crece rápidamente con más de 240 organizaciones guardianes del agua Waterkeeper protegiendo ríos, lagos y aguas costeras alrededor del mundo. El logro que más nos enorgullece es el haber alcanzado tan amplia cobertura a través de nuestras organizaciones, manteniendo una clara unidad de visión que lucha por agua limpia con el fuerte apoyo de sus comunidades.

El equipo de la Alianza ha guiado a muchas organizaciones a través del proceso para convertirse en organizaciones Waterkeeperen los Estados Unidos y en otras partes del mundo.

La organización comunitaria del pueblo está en Plaza Kahuna, Santa Teresa. Pasen a hablar, conocer lo que hacemos y ver si podemos ayudarle de alguna forma para su casa o negocio.

Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper is Part of a Global Movement Started in 1966

The Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper not-for-profit organization was launched only in 2013, but is part of the global Waterkeeper Alliance that has been growing since the 1960s. 

This huge grass roots community can be found in 240 places around the world. It is made up of people in towns and villages on several continents, all of whom believe in fighting for their right to drinkable, swimmable, fishable and surfable waters.

The Waterkeeper Alliance was started in 1966 on the Hudson river in the US by local fishermen who united to save their river and formed the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association. These fishermen recognized that outspoken, citizen-led advocacy was the only way to ensure that laws were enforced and their river, livelihood and the health of
their families were protected. They took on many of the nation’s biggest industrial polluters and won.

Keep Our Waters Clean - Photo by Carlos Palacios

In 1983, they hired the first full-time Hudson Riverkeeper to patrol the river, to restore its abundant fisheries and to lead citizen-based enforcement of environmental laws. Since those early days, Hudson Riverkeeper has brought hundreds of polluters to justice and forced them to spend hundreds of millions of dollars restoring the Hudson to health. Their success spurred an explosive growth of similar grassroots programs across the globe, and in 1999 Waterkeeper Alliance was founded to support these programs.

Today, Waterkeeper Alliance is the world’s fastest growing environmental movement, with over 240 Waterkeeper Organizations protecting rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on six continents. The Alliance's proudest accomplishment is the depth and breadth of its member organizations and the unity of their vision for clean water and strong communities.

The Support team has helped many prospective Waterkeeper organizations through the proposal process and has networked with a number of grassroots water advocacy groups both domestically and internationally.

Your grassroots, community-based waterkeeper organisation is found in Plaza Kahuna, Santa Teresa. Please stop by for a chat and to learn more about what we do and how we can help your home or business.

Join the Fight to Keep our Waters Clean!!

Sea turtle off the coast of Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica - photo by Carlos Palacios

"The fight for clean water is a fight for one of the most basic and essential human rights."  

The Waterkeeper Alliance

We all know that water in our town is a BIG issue.  Oftentimes in summer we have none.  But even more important than the drought of summer, is the year-round concern of the contamination of our waters.

In a town that has developed and grown so quickly we face the problem of pollution from untreated grey waters (both from homes and from businesses), and even in some cases of raw sewage, seeping into our ground water, into our rivers and out to sea.  

To compound it all, we face a lack of awareness of the issues, as
well as a lack of monitoring and enforcement from the governmental institutions charged with the protection of our environment.  

But there is no need to despair!  

There is a lot that can be done to promote change and to support the protection of our waters.  And that is why the Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeepers are here!

Who Are the Waterkeepers? 

The Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper (NPWK) is a non-profit organization, that is a member of the WaterkeeperAlliance, a global network of more than 200 Waterkeeper Organizations dedicated to cleaning up rivers, lakes and coasts through grassroots action.  The vision of the Waterkeeper Movement is for swimmable, drinkable, fishable waterways worldwide.   

Our organization has been set up here in Santa Teresa with the following mission:

• To raise awareness of the water pollution issues that we face in our town and the surrounding areas; 

• To help correct practices that are contaminating our water and restore water quality - through research, fieldwork, education and practical assistance; 

• To campaign and pressure governmental institutions to fulfill their obligations in the monitoring and enforcement of Costa Rica's environmental laws.   

We exist to fight for the protection of the water that we drink, as well as the water that we swim and surf in.  

Become a Waterkeeper!

Join the fight to keep our waters clean by becoming a member of the Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper! 

Over the last year we have launched a number of projects in and around town.  In the blog posts that follow we will let you know about these and how you can get involved.   

In the meantime, please support us by following us on Facebook and visiting our website.  Or come visit us at Plaza Kahuna, Santa Teresa, to find out how you can help.  

Without water there is no life!