The Office of the Ombudsman has formally requested the Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV) to order an external and independent review of a technical report submitted by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). The request seeks to ensure strict compliance with the boundaries of forest lands adjacent to the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge.

The Ombudsman’s intervention is based on concerns about the methodology used by the Ministry to delimit the protected area. According to the Ombudsman, the official report relies on forest cover data from 2025, which could indirectly validate environmental damage that occurred previously, instead of being based on historical records prior to a 2014 law that was declared unconstitutional.

This approach, the Ombudsman warns, could contravene constitutional principles that prohibit forest reduction and the weakening of existing environmental safeguards.

One of the critical issues highlighted is the management of “flooded forests” or wetlands. Although the ministerial report mentions the presence of water bodies and their importance to the natural heritage, the Ombudsman maintains that it has not been technically demonstrated that these specific ecosystems were mapped using appropriate expert methods, thereby putting their preservation at risk.

To ensure transparency and accuracy in the process, the Ombudsman has proposed that the validation of the report should not be carried out by internal bodies within the Ministry itself, but rather by the Forensic Biology Section of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ). It is argued that this body has the necessary independence and certified systems to conduct an impartial expert assessment.

The dispute originates from a court order issued in 2019, reinforced in March 2025, which required the State to clearly delimit the 186 hectares that had lost their protected status in 2014. The MINAE report indicates that:

• Approximately 58% of the area (107 hectares) still maintains forest cover.
• Of the 364 properties analyzed, 93% qualify as native ecosystems under the current Forestry Law.
• A total of 825 mature trees from 75 different species were identified, confirming the area’s role as a vital biological corridor.

Currently, all logging and forest-use permits remain suspended in seven strategic sectors that must be reintegrated into the refuge. Likewise, concessions granted by the local government in the maritime-terrestrial zone remain on hold until the Constitutional Chamber receives and validates a compliance report that is satisfactory and truthful.

The Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge has been a Ramsar site of international importance since 1995 and is fundamental for the protection of coral reefs, sea turtle nesting beaches, and lowland tropical forests.