Despite a torrent of opposition from environmental and tourism organizations, the government of Costa Rica is pressing ahead with a bill that would permit development in one the world’s most important refuges for the critically endangered leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). The legislation, introduced by President Óscar Arias in May and currently being studied by Costa Rica’s legislature, would downgrade Las Baulas National Marine Park, a critical nesting ground for the leatherback. Las Baulas would lose its status as a national park and become a so-called mixed-property wildlife refuge, in which real estate projects would be permitted. That, critics say, would reward hotel and residential developers who have been itching to build on the park’s pristine Pacific beaches, which form part of the booming... [Log in to read more]