In the Feb. 1 Costa Rican Legislative Assembly proceedings, lawmakers who favored ratification posted placards reading “Revive the Escazú Accord” on the front of their desks. (Photo by Costa Rican Legislative Assembly)
Costa Rican lawmakers on Feb. 1 voted to keep the first regional environmental treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean off the legislative agenda, effectively killing the chances that the agreement will be ratified by the country that hosted its adoption. The Escazú Accord was adopted in 2018 in a Costa Rican community of the same name at a regional summit of representatives from 24 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Ultimately signed by 25 of a possible 33 countries and ratified thus far by 14, the treaty took force in 2021 and is now in the implementation phase. A prime goal of the treaty is to boost public access to environmental information on development plans, the aim being to ensure that decision-making on such projects is more transparent and reflects greater social consensus. Another is to promote enhanced legal protection for environmental activists, who have become frequent targets of... [Log in to read more]
