Resolución 0086 — General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area

across the entirety of the text - Complete Text of Norm 0086 General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area NATIONAL SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION AREAS COCOS MARINE CONSERVATION AREA REGIONAL DIRECTORATE Resolution SINAC-ACMC-DR-RES-0086-2025.-Ministry of Environment and Energy.-National System of Conservation Areas.-Cocos Marine Conservation Area, at eleven hours and thirty-seven minutes on October 6, 2025.

I.-That it is the competence of SINAC through the Cocos Marine Conservation Area to plan and administer the ASP Bicentennial Marine Management Area located within its administrative jurisdiction.

II.-That the General Management Plans of protected wild areas constitute the guiding instruments for an effective administration and management of the natural, marine, and cultural elements present in said area and of the socio-environmental dynamics linked to it; constituting an instrument specific to the protected wild area and must be seen as a technical tool owned by the managers, administrators, and interest groups, therefore, the first instance that must carry out the validation of the management proposal are the authorities of the respective Conservation Area, as well as the official instances of social participation established therein, which has been carried out as recorded in the administrative file.

III.-That as recorded in the file, the legality block has been fulfilled under the following considerations:

Participation process through participatory roundtables, workshops, and meetings; visible in the file which includes minutes and attendance lists for meetings of the Follow-up Commission and participants in the workshops and consultative participatory roundtables visible in the document of the proposed General Management Plan.

3. That the process responded to what is established in the official SINAC Guide for the Design and Formulation of the General Management Plan of the Protected Wild Areas of Costa Rica.

3.1.- That the process of preparing the referred General Management Plan was highly participatory.

3.2.- That the Strategic Framework, the zoning, the management programs, the timeline, and the management model proposed in the General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area are consistent with the national legal framework.

IV.-That the process of preparing the General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area responded to what is established in the "Official SINAC Guide for the Design and Formulation of the General Management Plan of the Protected Wild Areas of Costa Rica." V.-That the General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area was approved by the Regional Council of the Conservation Area (CORACMC), by means of agreement No. 17 of regular session No. 13-2025 of the day 20 of August 2025, following the recommendation of the Technical Committee of the ACMC agreed upon in session No. 07 of July 21, 2025, according to official communication CARTA-SINAC_ACMC-DR-0266_2025.

VI.-That in accordance with the provisions of article 12 subsection d) of the Executive Decree No. 34433-MINAE called "Regulation to the Biodiversity Law," it is the competence of the National Council of Conservation Areas to approve the General Management Plans of the Protected Wild Areas. Therefore, THE DIRECTORATE OF THE COCOS MARINE CONSERVATION AREA, RESOLVES:

1°-To validate and approve the General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area approved by the National Council of Conservation Areas by means of agreement No. 17 of regular session 13-2025 of August 20, 2025, which provides the following relevant aspects:

Managing the conservation of biodiversity and the exceptional historical-cultural legacy of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area with scientific-technical solidity, innovation, committed and qualified human talent, with the support of strategic allies.

- Sustainable fishing: Considered a strategic axis due to its cultural, economic, and ecological relevance. The importance of fisheries science is highlighted as a basis for evidence-based management, good practices, and the active participation of key actors.

- Seamounts: Essential geological structures for marine biodiversity and ecological processes. A significant lack of specific scientific information on these habitats is recognized, which represents a challenge for their effective conservation.

- Pelagic ecosystems: They include highly migratory species, key to the connectivity and stability of trophic webs. Challenges are highlighted linked to the pressure of unsustainable fishing activity, pollution, and the effects of climate change.

The zoning of AMMB includes 4 oceanic zones - Buffer or Alert Zone: Comprises from 0 to 500 m depth and 5 nautical miles around PNIC. It is of a precautionary nature between two marine protected areas with a different management category (PNIC as a national park and AMMB as a marine management area).

- Sustainable Use Zone: Located between 0 to 500 m depth. Activities of a commercial or sport-tourism nature are permitted, fishing activity by the advanced commercial fleet, as well as sport-tourism or research fishing vessels.

- Minimal Intervention Zone: Activities of very low intensity and with rigorous controls are permitted from 500 m depth down to the benthos (seafloor).

- No Intervention Zone: It is of absolute protection within a margin of 2 nautical miles around the base of the seamounts located from 500 m depth to the benthos.

43368-MINAE establishes, verbatim, the following objectives of the AMMB:

- Promote the conservation and sustainable use of one of the marine areas of greatest productivity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

- Comprehensively manage a representative part of the marine ecosystem of the Cocos Submarine Ridge.

- Conserve aggregation sites (resting, reproduction, cleaning, and feeding) for vulnerable, threatened, or endangered species, such as chelonians, cetaceans, elasmobranchs, and pelagic species, some of commercial importance.

- Conserve deep-sea ecosystems such as mesophotic coral formations, communities of azooxanthellate corals, abyssal plains, ridges, and their benthic communities, endemic species, and possible species new to science.

- Conserve feeding and transit areas for seabirds.

- Promote the structural and functional connectivity of highly migratory species at the level of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Corridor.

The management category of the AMMB, as previously stated, allows and aims for the sustainable management of hydrobiological resources and the ecosystems it harbors. In accordance with what is established in Executive Decree No. 43368-MINAE, the following activities are authorized within the AMMB:

- Sustainable fishing (specified and regulated by the zoning and the Fisheries Management Plan (PGP) that will be prepared subsequently).

- Ecotourism, including recreational diving, snorkeling.

- Scientific and academic research, including active management and access to genetic and biochemical resources of biodiversity, as well as research of the underwater historical heritage, should it exist.

Permits to enter the area and carry out these activities are granted by the ACMC, with the exception of the permit to access the elements and genetic and biochemical resources of biodiversity, which is granted by the National Commission for Biodiversity Management (Conagebio), the permit for research of underwater cultural heritage, which is granted by the National Museum, specifically the National Commission of Cultural Heritage, and the fishing licenses for vessels, which are granted by Incopesca.

The type of fishing permitted—commercial, tourism-related, and sport—is established in Decree No. 35369 of May 18, 2009. This same decree prohibits trawling, semi-industrial fishing (purse seine) and industrial fishing, and oil exploration and exploitation. To regulate fishing, the AMMB must have a specific plan called the Fisheries Management Plan (PGP) which forms part, like the other specific plans, of the PGM of the AMMB. The vessels, in turn, must have, in addition to the fishing license, other navigability permits, port clearance, among others, issued by other institutions.

5. Management Model.

The management model of the PGM is made up of five programs, and one of them is subdivided into four subprograms, namely:

1. Strategic coordination.

- Alliances and governance.

- Financing, cooperation, and projects.

- Administration and operations.

- Human Talent.

2. Prevention, protection, and control.

3. Research and monitoring.

4. Sustainable fishing.

5. Information and communication.

6. Action Plan.

Each program or subprogram has a strategic result linked to management indicators, focused on the most relevant aspects for its monitoring and evaluation. To achieve these results, strategic actions, expected results, and required activities are disaggregated, which constitute the Action Plan.

In summary, the PGM is structured into five programs, four subprograms, eight strategic results, 28 management indicators, 29 strategic actions, 50 expected results, and 132 required activities.

3°-To elevate this administrative resolution to the National Council of Conservation Areas for its respective validation and officialization.

4°-To publish on the institutional website the complete document of the General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management Area.

5°-Let this resolution be published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta once the respective validation and officialization agreement of the National Council of Conservation Areas is recorded.

General Management Plan of the Bicentennial Marine Management AreaPlan General de Manejo del Área Marina de Manejo del Bicentenario

Artículo 4 — of Executive Decree No.

Stay Informed Mantente Informado

Email Updates Actualizaciones por Correo

WhatsApp Channel Canal de WhatsApp