Damage from two projects
$3.5 million, Tribunal says


Workers at two projects on the central Pacific coast did $3.5 million damage to the environment, according to the Tribunal Ambiental. The administrative body said the irreversible damage at Hermosa Vista was $2.1 million and lesser damage at Costa Montaña some $1.3 million.

Both projects were frozen by environmental agents in March. The tribunal is part of the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía. It has been vigorous lately in inspecting developments and coastal areas for environmental violations.

The damage at Hermosa Vista was valued more because some 9.4 hectares (23 acres) of trees have been affected by the construction of roads and terraces, said the tribunal. This damage is incurable, said the report of Alexis Madrigal and Carlos Vinicio Cordero, both engineers for the ministry, said the tribunal.

In addition two waterways were covered by some 4,500 cubic meters (158,916 cubic feet) of soil removed for elsewhere in the project, said the tribunal. The waterways drain into the  Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Playa Hermosa-Punta Mala where marine turtles are protected, said the tribunal. Hermosa Vista contemplates the development of some 80 hectares (198 acres) with 46 terraces for houses and condominiums, said the tribunal.

The damage at Costa Montaña was less, said the tribunal. The project envisions developing 98 hectares (242 acres), but construction had only begun on 18 terraces for homes when the project was frozen, said the tribunal. Shortly after the Tribunal inspection Costa Montaña presented a mitigation plan that still is being studied, said the tribunal.

José Lino Chaves, president of the tribunal, said that inspectors intervened in time to prevent more damage at the project.

In a related situation, a lawyer for the Costa Montaña developers said that Jeffrey Martin Goldberg was not an owner of the firm. Goldberg was arrested in late May in Florida on four charges of racketeering and money laundering. At the time, an employee of the firm said that he was an owner. But the lawyer said this was not the case. Goldberg's charges stem from a gambling operation and not land development.

No quick compromise seen
at whaling talks in Chile


Australia and Japan have traded barbs at the International Whaling Commission in Santiago, Chile. Japan accuses Australia of lacking the conviction to save crucial talks from "a state of collapse." Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett has fired back, insisting he will not compromise on the issue of whale conservation.

The challenge ahead of the International Whaling Commission is to get pro- and anti-whaling nations to find common ground.

But that could be tough. Several countries vow to not accept any loosening of the whale hunting ban, while Japan and a few other countries, such as Norway, say whale stocks have expanded enough to allow commercial hunting.

Garrett says Canberra must stand firm and condemn Japan's scientific whaling program. Garrett says that Australia will not sign any deal at the commission meeting that might lead to an end to the moratorium on the commercial hunting of whales.

"Australia hasn't come to this whaling commission to compromise at all," Garrett said. "We are absolutely strongly of the view that we do not want to see the commercial exploitation of whale populations. We are strongly of the view that this commission needs to focus on the science of conservation, not on the science of killing whales."

A spokesman for the Japanese delegation, Glenn Inwood, accuses the Australians of trying to derail critical talks.

"I think it's a huge miscalculation for the Australian minister to step straight off the plane and come here to this meeting with fresh demands when the rest of the IWC is trying to come up with an 11th hour solution to save it from collapse," he said.

Japan is lobbying for a return to commercial whaling, which was banned in 1986. Its delegation in Santiago has warned that without progress on this issue, it is difficult to see any future for the international commission. In the past, Japan has threatened to withdraw from the organization if it does not allow hunting.

The Australian government staunchly opposes Tokyo's annual whale harvest in the Antarctic. Canberra calls the hunt an unnecessary slaughter. Japan says its whaling fleet is conducting scientific research. At the start of the annual meeting this week in Santiago, the Chilean government proposed a permanent ban on whaling in the country's coastal waters.

Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto photo