River San Juan faces ecological risk
ViaNica.com | Jun 22, 2007
Nicaraguan and Costa Rican ecologists and various authorities of districts of the river San Juan expressed their worries about the reactivation of open air mine explosions, which could harm the ecosystem of the huge natural areas of San Juan and which could contaminate the water of the river.The alarm was started in the beginning of this year, when the Canadian company Vannesa Venture published on their web page the reactivation of exploration and exploitation of a mine in the sector of de Las Crucitas, in Costa Rican territory, three kilometers south from the Nicaraguan river San Juan.
The work on the mines in this sector was stopped in 2002, due to a mine respite decreed by the Costa Rican authorities, but according to ecologists of this country, the license holder of the mine projects expressed that this decree will be cancelled, and they are working on this issue to make get the decree cancelled.
Actually, ecologist organizations of both countries and mayors of districts on the river side, started to make public their worries through the Medias and they are organizing themselves to apply to the Costa Rican authorities the stop of permits for the mine exploitation in this sector.
The enormous range of soil and the use of substances during the mine activity could cause a ecological disaster at San Juan, many small rivers are emptying in the river San Juan and could bring contamination and sediments to the river.