10. IGN's Georeferenced Digital Geodatabase (GDG) on the maritime-terrestrial zone is technically grounded in the application of the regulations established by:
- a)Decreto Ejecutivo N° 7841-P, Reglamento a la Ley N° 6043 sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre;
- b)Decreto Ejecutivo N° 33797-MJ-MOPT, which declares CR05 as the official horizontal datum for Costa Rica and its associated cartographic projection CRTM05;
- c)Decreto Ejecutivo N° 36642-MP-MOPT-MINAET, Reglamento de Especificaciones para la Delimitación de la zona pública de la Zona Marítimo Terrestre;
- d)Decreto Ejecutivo Nº 40962-MJP, Actualización del Sistema Geodésico de Referencia Horizontal Oficial para Costa Rica;
- e)Decreto Ejecutivo N° 42760-MINAE, Criterios técnicos para la ubicación, identificación, clasificación y delimitación de ecosistemas de humedal; and
- f)Directriz DIG-01-2025, Actualización de Información de la zona pública de la Zona Marítimo Terrestre con respecto al Sistema de Referencia Horizontal CR-SIRGAS para la época de medición 2014.59.
11. Article 16 of Ley N° 7575, Ley Forestal, dated February 13, 1996, and its amendments, establishes that MINAE shall demarcate on the ground the boundaries of the areas comprising the State Natural Heritage (Patrimonio Natural del Estado, PNE).
12. Article 11 of Chapter I, General Provisions, of Ley N° 6043, Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre, dated March 2, 1977, and its amendments, establishes that the "public zone also includes, regardless of its extent, all mangrove forests on the continental and island shorelines and tidal estuaries (esteros) of the national territory." 13. Decreto Ejecutivo N° 36786-MINAET, Manual para la clasificación de tierras dedicadas a la conservación de los recursos naturales dentro de la Zona Marítimo Terrestre en Costa Rica, dated August 12, 2011, establishes among its objectives "To identify within the maritime-terrestrial zone those lands that qualify as forests, forest-suitable land (Class VII and VIII soils), and wetlands (humedales) (mangroves, tidal estuaries, rias, salt marshes, coastal lagoons, swamps, flooded forests, salt flats), in order to certify them and incorporate them as part of the State Natural Heritage (PNE)." 14.
Decreto Ejecutivo N° 36786-MINAET, under Point III—Competencies for Delimitation and Certification, establishes that "The classification of lands within the maritime-terrestrial zone (ZMT) shall be the responsibility of the Conservation Areas (Áreas de Conservación, AC) of SINAC and of duly accredited private professionals registered with the respective Professional Associations, to classify forests, forest-suitable land (Class VII and VIII soils), (mangroves, tidal estuaries, rias, salt marshes, coastal lagoons, swamps, flooded forests, salt flats) and wetlands.
The validity of classification documents issued by private professionals shall be subject to the approval issued by the Conservation Area (AC) with territorial jurisdiction. SINAC's Conservation Areas (ACs) with jurisdiction in the ZMT shall also be responsible for the verification, oversight, demarcation, and certification of State Natural Heritage lands and protection zones.
The location and delimitation of State Natural Heritage areas within the maritime-terrestrial zone must be carried out as part of the approval process for the Coastal Regulatory Plan (Plan Regulador Costero, PRC), as defined by Ley 6043, given that the Coastal Regulatory Plan is the territorial planning instrument that defines and locates all zones eligible for concession within the ZMT and for their classification at the level of cadastral plans (planos de catastro). The Coastal Regulatory Plan must therefore clearly and expressly identify the PNE areas so that they are not counted in the total area available for concession." 15. Decreto Ejecutivo N° 42760-MINAE, Criterios técnicos para la ubicación, identificación, clasificación y delimitación de ecosistemas de humedal, dated March 7, 2022, establishes in its article 14 that: "Complementary technical considerations for mangroves. The respective Conservation Area, together with the Instituto Geográfico Nacional, shall verify in the field the existence of mangrove and proceed to its delimitation, pursuant to the competence of each institution as indicated by the legal framework.
For the identification of a mangrove, the presence of trees belonging to any of the species listed in Anexo I of this decree shall serve as the determining parameter; tidal estuaries and existing channels are likewise included within these ecosystems. The boundary is established at the extent of the vegetation associated with this ecosystem, in accordance with Anexo II of this decree. In addition to the foregoing, the provisions set forth in Anexo III of this decree, entitled 'Flora list by wetland type according to the landscape classification Estuarine Wetlands and Flooded Saltwater Forests (mangroves),' must also be taken into account.
The mangrove delimitation process must necessarily include areas that are degraded or in the process of recovery. Furthermore, within the scope of its competence, the respective Conservation Area shall implement the necessary measures to promote such recovery.
16. IGN used the georeferenced digital delimitation methodology to delimit the public zone of the maritime-terrestrial zone corresponding to a mangrove sector in Estero Pargos, district 03° Veintisiete de Abril, canton 03° Santa Cruz, province 05° Guanacaste.
17. By means of official communications ACT-OSRSCC-900-2024, dated August 9, 2024, signed by Mr. Orlando Matarrita Suárez, Head of the Santa Cruz-Carrillo Sub-Regional Office, and SINAC-ACT-OR-DT-0658-2025, dated April 25, 2025, signed by Mr. Mauricio Méndez Venegas, Technical Director of the Regional Office of the Área de Conservación Tempisque, the delimitation of the mangrove ecosystem carried out in the field by the Santa Cruz-Carrillo Sub-Regional Office was processed.
18. By means of official communications ACT-OR-T-1060-2024, dated August 1, 2024, signed by Mr. Isaac Cisneros González, Topographic Engineer of the Regional Office of the Área de Conservación Tempisque, and DDUR-DCT-IGN-0791-05-2025, dated May 5, 2024, signed by Ms. Alejandra Sancho Perlaza and Ms. Karina Cruz Campos, both engineers of the Department of Cadastre and Topography of the Municipality of Santa Cruz, the delimitation along with its respective technical reports was submitted and granted approval.
19. The delimitation of the public zone of the ZMT for the canton of Santa Cruz was carried out under the Cooperation Agreement (Convenio de Cooperación) between SINAC and the Municipality of Santa Cruz, and executed through the engagement of the firm STEREOCARTO CENTROAMERICA S.A., public tender (licitación) 2022LA-0000210021000001, pursuant to official communication CTPR-SINAC_ACT-0043-10-2023 (DDUR-DCTSINAC_ACT-0630-10-2023) of October 10, 2023.
20. By means of official communication DIG-GDF-266-2025, dated August 8, 2025, issued by the Topography Sub-process of the Department of Geodesy and Geophysics of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional, the Technical Review Report for the publication of the georeferenced digital delimitation of the public zone was issued regarding the work carried out by SINAC-ACT concerning the delimitation of a mangrove sector in Estero Pargos in Playa Negra, with the delimitation carried out having been technically endorsed for publication.
21. Article 140 of Ley N° 6227, Ley General de la Administración Pública, dated May 2, 1978, and its amendments, states that "the administrative act shall produce its effect after being communicated to the party concerned, except where it exclusively grants rights, in which case it shall take effect from the moment it is adopted." This provision must necessarily be read in conjunction with paragraph 240(1) of the same body of law, which defines the appropriate instrument for communicating acts of a general nature by stating that: "General acts shall be communicated by publication and specific acts by notification." HEREBY GIVES NOTICE: