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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Bush's Former Oil Company Threatens Endangered Sea Turtles in Costa Rica; 800 Turtle Scientists Issue Plea |
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SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA, Apr. 4 -/E-Wire/--
Plans by Harken Energy Corporation, a Houston-based oil company with ties to U.S. President George W. Bush, to drill for oil and natural gas just off the Caribbean port of Limón in southeastern Costa Rica have run headlong into opposition from hundreds of scientists. The proposed drill site is barely five miles off the coastline in a region referred to as the "cradle" of the Caribbean's sea turtle populations.
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More than 800 sea turtle biologists and conservationists unanimously approved a resolution at the 21st International Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, held earlier this year, calling for the Costa Rican government to ban all oil exploration in its Caribbean marine areas. According to these scientists, the drilling not only threatens globally significant sea turtle nesting beaches, but also endangers several species of sea turtles that use the offshore areas for mating and migration.
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Meanwhile, in Costa Rica, a grassroots movement to stop the drilling continues to grow. Over the past two years, more than 40 organizations including indigenous groups, development associations, tourism boards, local communities, business owners, fishermen groups, environmental organizations, ecotourism operators and religious leaders have been working as a coalition to stop Harken Energy Corporation's plans to extract oil from their environmentally fragile tropical coast.
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Harken oil has also been the target of sometimes violent protests related to its activities in Columbia. President George W. Bush is a former consultant and member of the board of directors at Harken, which bought his nearly bankrupt oil and gas exploration business in 1986. The Colombian magazine Cambio alleged that Bush's foreign policy decisions about Colombia could be influenced by his past connections with the company. Harken also came under fire last year for having been slow to clean up gasoline and petroleum leaks from some six storage tanks in Florida in the 1980s. The leaks threatened drinking water supplies and ocean waters of the Florida Keys.
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According to the Symposium scientists, Costa Rica has many of the most important sea turtle nesting beaches in the Western Hemisphere. The communities along Costa Rica's Caribbean coast make their living predominantly from ecotourism and local fishing. Each year, more than 50,000 tourists visit Tortuguero National Park to see nesting green turtles, and more than 100,000 visitors enjoy the beaches and lowland forests of Cahuita National Park. Sea turtles are important cultural icons for many indigenous cultures. Costa Rica has recognized its precious Caribbean environment by creating six sanctuaries along its Caribbean coast, including Tortuguero and Cahuita National Parks and Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge.
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When Costa Rican President Miguel Angel Rodríguez was inaugurated in 1998, his first order of business was to sign an international agreement that his government would collaborate with neighboring governments in Nicaragua and Panama to conserve sea turtles, ensuring the participation of all local user groups in sea turtle management. Under his administration, protection of turtles has never been stronger, with poaching of nesting turtles and their eggs reduced to a minimum in recent years. Thus, conservation-minded Costa Ricans are baffled that their government would risk exposing its fragile coastal and marine resources, and its globally important sea turtles and nesting beaches to the threats posed by oil development.
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"A leak or spill, like the recent major incidents off Brazil and the Galápagos, would devastate the abundant yet fragile biological resources of the region. Local economies are dependent on these resources and their degradation or destruction could destroy the livelihoods of thousands of Caribbean families." said Roxana Silman, Costa Rican Director for the sea turtle conservation organization Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC).
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Harken's oil development was frozen last September when Costa Rica's Supreme Court sided with indigenous communities who argued that they had not been adequately consulted in the decision to move forward with oil exploration. But in November, Costa Rican courts reversed part of the earlier finding, allowing the company to submit an application to support its plans to drill for oil offshore. International advocacy groups have joined Costa Rican environmental groups in developing an international campaign to stop the oil development. "Florida's governor, President Bush's brother, has opposed offshore oil development in his state. A U.S. company should withdraw this project which would harm Costa Rica's economy and endangered sea turtles." said Jacob Scherr, director of the International Program of the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Costa Rican government's decision on the project is expected in the coming months.
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The Caribbean Conservation Corporation, based in Florida and Costa Rica, is the oldest sea turtle research and conservation group in the world. Founded by legendary sea turtle expert Dr. Archie Carr and others in 1959, CCC has been studying and protecting sea turtles in the Caribbean for over 40 years. To learn more about CCC, its conservation and hands-on volunteer programs, or to become a member, call (800) 678-7853 or visit www.cccturtle.org.
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/SOURCE:
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Caribbean Conservation Corporation |
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04-04-2001 |
/CONTACT:
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Caribbean Conservation Corporation, 4424 NW 13th St., Suite A-1, Gainesville, FL 32609, 352-373-6441, ccc@cccturtle.org, Cindy Taft (Director of International Programs) or Roxana Silman (Costa Rica Director), INT+506-224-9215 |
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http://http://www.cccturtle.org
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