Posted with permission from AMCostaRica.com (10/16/09):

New plan would let turtles and people share Ostional

The environmental ministry and lawmakers have an idea what to do with some 600 homeowners who are being evicted from the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Ostional: Nothing.

Instead, they plan to change the refuge from one strongly in favor of nesting turtles to a mixed refuge where residents can continue to live.

The government is working under an edict from the Sala IV constitutional court to remove the residents. The Sala IV order does not apply to anyone who has been living on the site since before 1983 when the refuge was created.

The order also does not apply to those involved in research, protection of the local turtle nests, training or ecotourism, said the Poder Judicial last February when the decision was announced.

Thursday representatives of the Ministerio de Ambiente Energía y Telecomunicaciones appeared before the Comisión Especial de Ambiente, with an outline of the plan.

The idea is sure to raise the hackles of environmentalists.

Under the current ruling families have until Jan. 10 to get out. The situation is a test of the administration's peace with nature program.

Maureen Ballestero Vargas, a lawmaker, has presented a bill that would change the use of the refuge and allow residents to have legal rights to their homes. 

The ministry already considers the refuge a place of mixed use, but the the Sala IV did not buy that interpretation.

Jorge Rodriguez, the environmental minister, spoke of the social and environmental cost of the dislocation.