Delineation of San Juanillo mangrove public zoneDelimitación de la zona pública del manglar de San Juanillo

PROVINCE 05° GUANACASTE Pursuant to Articles 140 and 240 of Law No. 6227, General Law of Public Administration, dated 2 May 1978, as amended; Law No. 59, Law on the Creation and Organization of the National Geographic Institute, dated 4 July 1944, as amended; Law No. 8905, Amendment to Article 2 of Law No. 5695, Creation of the National Registry, as amended, and amendment of Law No. 59, Creation and Organization of the National Geographic Institute, of 4 July 1944, as amended, dated 7 December 2010; Law No. 6043, Law on the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, of 2 March 1977, together with its regulations; and Articles 2 and 3 of Law No. 5695, Law on the Creation of the National Registry, dated 28 May 1975, as amended.

59, Law on the Creation and Organization of the National Geographic Institute, of 4 July 1944, as amended, the National Geographic Institute (IGN) is “the leading scientific and technical body for national cartography, responsible for preparing the official basic map and basic geographic description of the Republic of Costa Rica, as well as studies, research, work, and the development of national policies of a cartographic, geographic, geodetic, geophysical, and similar nature related to those works, in order to support planning processes”; permanently serving, on behalf of the State, as the official authority on geodesy and the spatial representation of the geography of the Republic of Costa Rica, with its authority extending to activities of any kind originating from the work entrusted to it.

8905, Amendment to Article 2 of Law No. 5695, Creation of the National Registry, as amended, and amendment of Law No. 59, Creation and Organization of the National Geographic Institute, of 4 July 1944, as amended, dated 7 December 2010, the IGN was established as an office of the National Registry, which shall execute the contracts and agreements necessary for the exercise of its functions.

7841-P, Regulations to Law No. 6043 on the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, of 16 December 1977, as amended;

• b)Executive Decree No. 33797-MJ-MOPT, Declares CR05, linked to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF2000) of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) for the 2005.83 measurement epoch, the official horizontal datum for Costa Rica, of 3 March 2007;
• c)Executive Decree No. 36642-MP-MOPT-MINAET, Regulations on Specifications for Demarcating the Public Zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, of 28 June 2011;
• d)Executive Decree No. 36786-MINAET, Manual for Classifying Lands Dedicated to the Conservation of Natural Resources within the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone in Costa Rica, of 12 August 2011;
• e)Executive Decree No. 40962-MJP, Update of the Official Horizontal Geodetic Reference System for Costa Rica, of 24 January 2018;
• f)Executive Decree No. 42760-MINAE, Technical Criteria for the Location, Identification, Classification, and Demarcation of Wetland Ecosystems, of 7 March 2022; and
• g)Directive DIG-01-2025, Update of Information on the Public Zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone with respect to the CR-SIRGAS Horizontal Reference System for the 2014.59 measurement epoch, of 28 May 2025.

7841-P, Regulations to the Law on the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, of 16 December 1977, as amended, the IGN’s authority to demarcate the public zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, and to make that demarcation official through publication in the official newspaper La Gaceta, is recognized; Article 63 of Executive Decree No. 7841-P provides that “The National Geographic Institute shall publish a notice in the Official Gazette for each portion of the maritime-terrestrial zone in which it has demarcated the public zone.”

33797-MJ-MOPT, Declares CR05, linked to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF2000) of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) for the 2005.83 measurement epoch, the official horizontal datum for Costa Rica, of 30 March 2007, establishes, among other matters, the CR05 National Horizontal Reference Geodetic Network and its associated CRTM05 map projection as the official system to which the coordinates of all geodetic, cartographic, and cadastral work carried out in our country must refer. Article 11 specifically provides: “The CR05 National Horizontal Reference Geodetic Network and the CRTM05 map projection system shall constitute the sole official coordinate system for the Republic of Costa Rica, to which all surveys and cartographic and geodetic activities carried out in the National Territory by any public office, person, or national or foreign private entity must be referenced…”; while Article 7 provides that “As cartographic data are produced in the new CRTM05 map projection system, the National Geographic Institute shall publish, by appropriate means, such information as has been made official…”

36642-MP-MOPT-MINAET, Regulations on Specifications for Demarcating the Public Zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, of 28 June 2011, provides in Article 18 that, for demarcating the public zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, the IGN may use either of two methods of implementation, set out in Articles 19 and 20: demarcating the public zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone by placing boundary markers and/or by digital georeferencing, in order to expedite demarcations and provide greater technical certainty to interested parties.

40962-MJP, Update of the Official Horizontal Geodetic Reference System for Costa Rica, of 24 January 2018, declares in Article 1 that “The official horizontal geodetic reference system for Costa Rica, known as CR05 and realized through the National Geodetic Network, changes its acronym to CRSIRGAS as the official horizontal reference system for the Republic of Costa Rica, linked to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame ITRF2008 (IGb08) for the 2014.59 measurement epoch, and thereafter, changes and updates shall be governed according to the new ITRF definitions implemented in the continental network of the Geocentric Reference System for the Americas (SIRGAS), known as SIRGAS-CON”; while Article 2 provides that “The CRTM05 map projection system shall continue to be the official system for cartographic representation of the continental national territory, extended, for purposes of applying this map projection, to the territorial sea baseline in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, defined in accordance with Articles 5, 6, and 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as the starting point for calculating the maximum breadth of all maritime areas under the jurisdiction of the Costa Rican State.” For its part, Article 12 of the cited decree reinforces the application of the CRTM05 map projection as the official national coordinate system to which references must be made in the continental territory of our country, providing that “The CRSIRGAS horizontal reference system and its associated CRTM05 map projection for the continental territory extended to the territorial sea baseline, and the “Universal Transverse Mercator” (UTM) map projection, zones 16 and 17, for the maritime and insular areas under jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, shall constitute the sole official coordinate system for the Republic of Costa Rica.

All surveys and cartographic and geodetic activities carried out in the national territory by any public office, person, or national or foreign private entity undertaking or commissioning geodetic and cartographic work must be referenced to that system, thereby helping to avoid public expenditure and, in turn, obtaining reliable, uniform, and comparable geographic information of general use that supports decision-making at the various levels of the State.” 10.—That, by means of Directive DIG-01-2025, Update of Information on the Public Zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone with respect to the CR-SIRGAS Horizontal Reference System for the 2014.59 measurement epoch, of 28 May 2025, the information in the IGN Georeferenced Digital Geodatabase (GDG) on the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone was updated, converting it from the CR05 horizontal reference system to the CR-SIRGAS horizontal reference system for the 2014.59 measurement epoch, CRTM05 projection, as a mechanism for demarcating the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone.

11.—That, in addition, Article 11 of Chapter I, General Provisions, of Law No. 6043, Law on the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone, of 2 March 1977, as amended, provides that the “public zone also includes, whatever its extent, the area occupied by all mangroves on the mainland and island coastlines and estuaries of the national territory.” 12.—That Article 16 of Law No. 7575, Ley Forestal, of 13 February 1996, as amended, provides that the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) shall demarcate on the ground the boundaries of the areas comprising the State’s Natural Heritage.

13.—That Executive Decree No. 36786-MINAET, Manual for Classifying Lands Dedicated to the Conservation of Natural Resources within the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone in Costa Rica, of 12 August 2011, lists among its objectives “To identify within the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone those lands classified as forests, lands suitable for forestry (Class VII and VIII soils), and wetlands (mangroves, estuaries, tidal inlets, salt marshes, coastal lagoons, swamps, flooded forests, salt flats), in order to certify them and incorporate them into the State’s Natural Heritage (PNE).” 14.—That Executive Decree No. 36786-MINAET, at Section III—Authorities for Demarcation and Certification, provides that “The classification of lands within the ZMT shall be the responsibility of the Conservation Areas (AC) of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) and duly accredited private professionals belonging to the respective professional associations, who shall classify forests, lands suitable for forestry (Class VII and VIII soils), (mangroves, estuaries, tidal inlets, salt marshes, coastal lagoons, swamps, flooded forests, salt flats), and wetlands.

The validity of classification documents issued by private professionals shall be subject to approval by the AC with territorial jurisdiction. The SINAC ACs with jurisdiction over the ZMT shall also be responsible for verifying, inspecting, demarcating, and certifying lands forming part of the State’s Natural Heritage and protection zones.

The location and demarcation of areas forming part of the State’s Natural Heritage within the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone must take place as part of the approval process for the Coastal Regulatory Plan (PRC), defined by Law 6043, since the Coastal Regulatory Plan is the land-use planning instrument that defines and locates all zones to be granted in concession within the ZMT and classifies the ZMT at the cadastral-plan level. Therefore, the Coastal Regulatory Plan must clearly and expressly identify the PNE areas so that they are not counted toward the total area available for concession.” 15.—That Executive Decree No. 42760-MINAE, Technical Criteria for the Location, Identification, Classification, and Demarcation of Wetland Ecosystems, of 7 March 2022, provides in Article 14: “Supplementary technical considerations for mangroves. The respective Conservation Area, together with the National Geographic Institute, shall verify in the field that mangroves are present and proceed to demarcate them, in accordance with each institution’s authority as provided by the legal system.

The presence of trees of any species listed in Annex I to this decree shall be used as a parameter for identifying a mangrove; existing estuaries and channels are also included in these ecosystems. The boundary extends to the limit of vegetation associated with this ecosystem, in accordance with Annex II to this decree. In addition, the provisions of Annex III to this decree, entitled “List of Flora by Wetland Type According to Landscape Classification: Estuarine Wetlands and Saline-Flooded Forests (Mangroves),” must be taken into account.

The mangrove demarcation process must include areas that have deteriorated or are in the process of recovery. In addition, within its area of authority, the respective Conservation Area shall implement the measures necessary to promote that recovery.” 16.—That the IGN used the Digital Georeferenced Demarcation method to demarcate the public zone of the ZMT corresponding to a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, District 06º Cuajiniquil, Canton 03º Santa Cruz, Province 05º Guanacaste.

17.—That, by means of letter SINAC-ACT-OR-DR-1412- 2024 of 4 October 2024, signed by Mr. Ing. Nelson Marín Mora, Director of the Regional Office of the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT), the Technical Report on Survey and Demarcation No. ACT-OR-T-1409-2024, prepared by Mr. Isaac Cisneros González, Topographic Engineer of the Regional Office of the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT), dated 3 October 2024, was submitted and received approval.

18.—That the demarcation of the public zone of the mangrove ZMT was carried out by the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT), in accordance with Technical Report on Survey and Demarcation No. ACT-OR-T-1409-2024, prepared by Mr. Isaac Cisneros González, Topographic Engineer of the Regional Office of the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT), with the technical support described in report ACT-OSRSCC-1040-2024, dated 1 October 2024, prepared by Engineer Orlando Matarrita Suárez, Head of the Santa Cruz–Carrillo Subregional Office of the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT).

19.—That, by means of letter DIG-GDF-016-2026 dated 22 January 2026, prepared by the IGN’s Surveying Subprocess of the Department of Geodesy and Geophysics, the Technical Review Report for Publication of Georeferenced Demarcation of the Public Zone, DIG-GDF-004-2026-PU-INF, dated 15 January 2026, was sent to the IGN Directorate concerning work carried out by the Regional Office of the Tempisque Conservation Area (ACT) on demarcating a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, technically endorsing the demarcation for publication.

20.—That Article 140 of Law No. 6227, General Law of Public Administration, of 2 May 1978, as amended, provides that “an administrative act shall take effect after it has been communicated to the person concerned, except where it grants rights only, in which case it shall take effect from the time it is adopted,” a provision that must be read together with Article 240(1) of the same statute, which defines the appropriate means of communicating acts of a general nature by providing that: “General acts shall be communicated by publication and specific acts by notification.” ANNOUNCES:

Issued in Curridabat, San José, 22 January 2026.

Article Information 1

PROVINCIA 05° GUANACASTE Con fundamento en lo dispuesto en los artículos 140 y 240 de la Ley Nº 6227 Ley General de la Administración Pública de fecha 2 de mayo de 1978 y sus reformas; Ley Nº 59 Ley de Creación y Organización del Instituto Geográfico Nacional del 4 de julio de 1944 y sus reformas; Ley Nº 8905 Reforma del artículo 2 de la ley N° 5695, Creación del Registro Nacional, y sus reformas; y modificación de la ley N° 59, Creación y Organización del Instituto Geográfico Nacional, de 4 de julio de 1944, y sus reformas de fecha 7 de diciembre del 2010; Ley Nº 6043 Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre del 2 de marzo de 1977, con su respectivo reglamento y; artículos 2 y 3 de la Ley Nº 5695 Ley de Creación del Registro Nacional de fecha 28 de mayo de 1975 y sus reformas.

• f)Decreto Ejecutivo N° 42760-MINAE Criterios técnicos para la ubicación, identificación, clasificación y delimitación de ecosistemas de humedal del 07 de marzo del 2022; y g) 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 del 28 de mayo de 2025.

Por su parte, el artículo 12 del decreto de cita, refuerza la aplicación de la proyección cartográfica CRTM05 como el sistema nacional de coordenadas oficial a la cual se deben referenciar en el territorio continental de nuestro país, al señalar que “El sistema de referencia horizontal CRSIRGAS y su proyección cartográfica asociada CRTM05 para el territorio continental extendido hasta la línea de base del mar territorial y, la proyección cartográfica “Universal Transversal de Mercator” (UTM), zonas 16 y 17 para las áreas marinas e insulares jurisdiccionales en el océano Pacífico y el mar Caribe, constituirán el único sistema oficial de coordenadas para la República de Costa Rica, a partir del cual, se deben referenciar todos los levantamientos y actividades cartográficos y geodésicos que desarrollen en el territorio nacional toda dependencia pública, persona o entidad privada, nacional o extranjera, que emprendan o contraten trabajos geodésicos y cartográficos, contribuyéndose a evitar el gasto público y obteniendo, por otra parte, información geográfica confiable, uniforme y comparable, que sea de utilidad general y que apoye la toma de decisiones en los distintos niveles del Estado.” 10.—Que por medio de la 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 del 28 de mayo del 2025, se procedió a actualizar la información de la Geodatabase Digital Georreferenciada (GDG) del IGN sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre, pasándola del sistema de referencia horizontal CR05 al sistema de referencia horizontal CR-SIRGAS para la época de medición 2014.59, proyección CRTM05, como mecanismo de delimitación de la Zona Marítimo Terrestre.

11.—Que, en complemento, el artículo 11 del Capítulo I Disposiciones Generales de la Ley N° 6043 Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre del 02 de marzo de 1977 y sus reformas, establece que la “Zona pública es también, sea cual fuere su extensión, la ocupada por todos los manglares de los litorales continentales e insulares y esteros del territorio nacional.” 12.—Que el artículo 16 de la Ley N° 7575 Ley Forestal del 13 de febrero de 1996 y sus reformas, establece que el Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía (MINAE) delimitará en el terreno los linderos de las áreas que conforman el Patrimonio Natural del Estado.

13.—Que el 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 del 12 de agosto de 2011, establece entre sus objetivos “Identificar dentro de la Zona Marítimo Terrestre aquellos terrenos que clasifiquen como bosques, de aptitud forestal (suelos Clase VII y VIII), humedales (manglares, esteros, rías, marismas, lagunas costeras, pantanos, bosques anegados, salitrales), para certificarlos e incorporarlos como parte del Patrimonio Natural del Estado (PNE).” 14.—Que el Decreto Ejecutivo N° 36786-MINAET en el Punto III.-Competencias para la delimitación y certificación establece que “La clasificación de los terrenos dentro de la ZMT corresponderá a las Áreas de Conservación (AC) del Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (SINAC) y a profesionales privados debidamente acreditados por los Colegios Profesionales respectivos para que clasifiquen los bosques, terrenos de aptitud forestal (suelos Clase VII y VIII), (manglares, esteros, rías, marismas, lagunas costeras, pantanos, bosques anegados, salitrales) y humedales.

La validez de los documentos de clasificación emitidos por profesionales privados quedará sujeta a la aprobación que emita el AC que por competencia territorial le corresponda. A las AC del SINAC con jurisdicción en la ZMT les competerá, además, la verificación, fiscalización, deslinde y certificación de las tierras del Patrimonio Natural del Estado y las zonas de protección.

La ubicación y delimitación de las áreas del Patrimonio Natural del Estado dentro de la Zona Marítimo Terrestre, debe realizarse como parte del proceso de aprobación del Plan Regulador Costero (PRC), definido por la Ley 6043, ya que el Plan Regulador Costero es el instrumento de ordenamiento territorial, que define y ubica todas las zonas a concesionar dentro de la ZMT y para la clasificación de ésta a nivel de los planos de catastro. Por tanto, el Plan Regulador Costero debe indicar clara y expresamente, las áreas del PNE para no contabilizarlas en el área total a concesionar.” 15.—Que el Decreto Ejecutivo N° 42760-MINAE Criterios técnicos para la ubicación, identificación, clasificación y delimitación de ecosistemas de humedal del 07 de marzo de 2022, en su artículo 14 establece que: “Consideraciones técnicas complementarias para manglares. El Área de Conservación respectiva, en conjunto con el Instituto Geográfico Nacional, deberá verificar en el campo la existencia de manglar y proceder a su delimitación, conforme a la competencia de cada institución según lo indique ordenamiento jurídico.

Para la identificación de un manglar se tomará como parámetro la presencia de árboles de alguna de las especies indicadas en el Anexo I de este decreto; asimismo, se incluyen dentro de estos ecosistemas los esteros y canales existentes. El límite se establece hasta donde se extienda la vegetación asociada con este ecosistema, de conformidad con el Anexo II de este decreto. Además de lo anterior debe contemplarse lo indicado en el Anexo III de este decreto, denominado “Listado de flora por tipo de humedal de acuerdo con clasificación paisajística Humedales Esturianos y Bosques Inundados Salados (manglares)”.

El proceso de delimitación del manglar deberá necesariamente comprender las áreas que se hallen deterioradas o en proceso de recuperación. Además, en el ámbito de su competencia, el Área de Conservación respectiva, deberá ejecutar las medidas necesarias para fomentar dicha recuperación.

16.—Que el IGN utilizó la metodología de Delimitación Digital Georreferenciada, para delimitar la zona pública de la ZMT correspondiente a un sector de manglar en San Juanillo, distrito 06º Cuajiniquil, cantón 03º Santa Cruz, provincia 05º Guanacaste.

17.—Que mediante oficio SINAC-ACT-OR-DR-1412- 2024 del 04 de octubre del 2024, suscrito por el señor Ing. Nelson Marín Mora, Director de la Oficina Regional del Área de Conservación Tempisque (ACT), presenta el Informe técnico de levantamiento y delimitación N° ACT-OR-T-1409-2024 realizado por el señor Isaac Cisneros González, Ingeniero Topógrafo de la Oficina Regional del Área de Conservación Tempisque (ACT), de fecha 03 de octubre de 2024, al cual se le otorga visto bueno.

18.—Que la delimitación de la zona pública de la ZMT de manglar fue realizada por Área de Conservación Tempisque (ACT) conforme Informe técnico de levantamiento y delimitación N° ACT-OR-T-1409-2024 realizado por el señor Isaac Cisneros González Ingeniero Topógrafo de la Oficina Regional del Área de Conservación Tempisque (ACT), con el apoyo técnico descrito en el informe ACT-OSRSCC-1040-2024 de fecha 01 de octubre de 2024, realizado por Ingeniero Orlando Matarrita Suárez, Jefe Subregional Santa Cruz – Carrillo, del Área de Conservación Tempisque (ACT).

19.—Que mediante el oficio DIG-GDF-016-2026 de fecha 22 de enero de 2026, generado por el Subproceso de Topografía del Departamento de Geodesia y Geofísica del IGN se remitió, a la Dirección del IGN, el Informe de revisión técnica para la publicación de delimitación georreferenciada de la zona pública DIG-GDF-004-2026-PU-INF del 15 de enero del 2026, en relación con los trabajos realizados por la oficina Regional del Área de Conservación Tempisque (ACT), relativos a la delimitación de un sector de manglar en San Juanillo, avalando técnicamente la delimitación realizada para su publicación.

20.—Que el artículo 140 de la Ley N° 6227 Ley General de la Administración Pública del 02 de mayo de 1978 y sus reformas, señala que “el acto administrativo producirá su efecto después de comunicado al administrado, excepto si le concede únicamente derechos, en cuyo caso lo producirá desde que se adopte”, disposición que necesariamente debe relacionarse con el numeral 240 inciso 1) del mismo cuerpo normativo, que define el instrumento idóneo para comunicar actos de naturaleza genérica al señalar que: “Se comunicarán por publicación los actos generales y por notificación, los concretos.” COMUNICA:

Dado en Curridabat, San José, 22 de enero de 2026.

Ficha Artículo 1