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Wildlife

Chopping down trees in Nosara -
Interview with Heiner Avila

"He told me that he had the permits…"

By Emiliana García

On March 27, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) of Ostional initiated an investigation of the cutting of 20 pochote trees without the proper permits.

Among the people associated with the investigation are brothers Henier and Giovanni Avila, who transported the wood without the proper permits. The Forest Law indicates that if the person who wants to chop down trees is the owner of the property, he or she should obtain the necessary permits from MINAET, since they are the ones who make sure the trees or the property do not belong to protected areas.

 

In its June print edition, VON published a story about MINAET investigating the brothers; in light of this information, Heiner Avila agreed to an interview with VON to make clear his version of what happened.

VON: You transported those trees?
H.A: I didn't transport them; my brother (Giovanni Avila) transported them.

VON: When Mr. Randall Matarrita sought you out to transport the wood, did you ask for the permits?
H.A: Yes, he came to look for me and I told him no, but he insisted and then I asked him if he had the permits and he told me yes, that the owners of the lot are paying him to clear it but that first the wood had to be removed. I responded to him "Careful, you're going to get me into a quarrel," and he told me, "No, relax," and I hauled one load. Afterward, I didn't want to go anymore and he continued to insist and I told him, "I don't think you have permission," and he told me, "I have all the permits."

VON: Why didn't you require him to show you the permits?
H.A: He told me his lawyer had them.

VON: Are you familiar with the Forest law that obligates the transporters to have permission to transport felled trees?
H.A: I thought that since they were plantation trees, it wasn't necessary (to have permits), but Pablo Baltodano (an official from MINAET Ostional) explained to me that for any tree, you have to ask permission and that if he didn't have permission it would be better not to transport it.

VON: The report from MINAET says that on Sunday, March 27 they found you on the property transporting trunks.
H.A: That's a lie. I wasn't on the property at any moment. They didn't find me, I was going to the beach and Marcos (Avila)—my brother—called me and told me "Man, go to where they removed wood to chepo (Randall Matarrita), MINAET's there." This day there wasn't any machinery working. If they had found me, they would have noted the number of the license plate of the machinery.

 
   
 

VON: Did you present your statement to MINAET?
H.A: Pablo (Baltodano) told me that I wasn't under any investigation; the one that they're investigating is Randall Matarrita to find out how he did things with the wood.

VON wants to clarify that the title of the article in the June edition "The Brothers of Nosara Representative are Under Investigation for Tree Cuttings" is incorrect. Brothers Giovanni and Heiner Avila did not chop down the trees but rather transported them.

 

More Regional News

President Chinchilla's Visit to Nicoya Marked By Protests

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla visited Nicoya for the 187th Anniversary celebration of the Anexión del Partido de Nicoya to Costa Rica; an area that still awaits the government's help in order to see greater progress.

Confrontation Ends in Gunshot

A private security official was held by police for questioning following the shooting early morning on Friday July 22, of Leonel Alvarado Juarez, owner of Nosara restaurant Rancho Tico, on the street in front of Bar La Banana.

Guiones Tourist Police Will Keep Working Throughout 2011
• Nosara police station inaugurates renovated facilities

Agnes Pinheiro, President of the local Security Association, confirmed that they are receiving financial assistance from a group of people in order to pay for the Guiones Tourist Police maintenance expenses and therefore she is feeling "optimistic" about the police station's future.

Nosareños are Getting Ready to Protest on July 25th at the Nicoya Park

Over one thousand Nosareños signed a petition letter sent at the beginning of June to Costa Rican President, Laura Chinchilla, asking for "real and tangible" solutions to the four most pressing issues: the possible closure of the Nosara dump, the overcrowded EBAIS, which is petitioned to become a 24-hour clinic, the poor road conditions and the paving of the 28 kilometers that separate Samara from Nosara and the need to obtain a police car for the Fuerza Pública.

Confusion over Concessions in Samara: Is City Hall or the ICT Responsible?

Anyone looking for a concession or requesting a building permit for land in the maritime zone of Samara Beach will likely run into frustration and find their hands tied until a new regulatory plan is approved, which could take another year or more. The holdup is causing problems for area residents and businesses, including Intercultura, a language school that recently constructed a new building in Samara.

Laura Hangs On Life While Stretching Her Spine

When you have a headache, how much do you complain about it? Or about a toothache? How much would you complain if you had never talked or heard anything? Or could you complain at all, if you were losing your walking skills day by day at age 11?

CCSS Is Planning to Invest to Improve Services at the EBAIS

As the number of patients increases, it is no secret that the EBAIS public health clinics operated by the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) are overcrowded, with inadequate staff.

Lost Children of The Chorotegas
Is one of the eight indigenous groups of Costa Rica, the Chorotegas, vanishing?

An old, green and yellow painted school bus departs from Nicoya Bus Terminal at 11:00 a.m., only one of two daily buses for this destination. There is no public transportation on Sundays. Shortly after leaving the terminal, the bus takes the first left onto a dirt road that runs between Nicoya and Nosara. Once it reaches the small town of Matambú, in the highlands, its residents start to get off one by one.

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