10.—That through 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 of May 28, 2025, the information in the IGN Georeferenced Digital Geodatabase (GDG) on the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone was updated, transitioning from the CR05 horizontal reference system to the CR-SIRGAS horizontal reference system for the measurement epoch 2014.59, CRTM05 projection, as a mechanism for delimiting the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone.
11.—That, in addition, Article 11 of Chapter I, General Provisions, of Ley N° 6043 Ley sobre la Zona Marítimo Terrestre of March 2, 1977, and its amendments, establishes that the "public zone also includes, regardless of its extent, all mangroves on the continental and island coastlines and the estuaries (esteros) of the national territory." 12.—That Article 16 of Ley N° 7575 Ley Forestal of February 13, 1996, and its amendments, establishes that MINAE shall demarcate in the field the boundary lines (linderos) of the areas forming part of the State Natural Heritage (Patrimonio Natural del Estado).
13.—That 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 of August 12, 2011, includes among its objectives "Identifying within the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone those lands that qualify as forests, lands of forestry potential (Class VII and VIII soils), and wetlands (mangroves, estuaries, rias, saltmarshes (marismas), coastal lagoons (lagunas costeras), swamps (pantanos), flooded forests (bosques anegados), salt flats (salitrales)), in order to certify them and incorporate them as part of the State Natural Heritage (PNE)." 14.—That Decreto Ejecutivo N° 36786-MINAET, in Point III — Powers for Delimitation and Certification, establishes that "The classification of lands within the ZMT shall fall to the Conservation Areas (Áreas de Conservación, AC) of SINAC and to private professionals duly accredited by the relevant professional associations (Colegios Profesionales) for the classification of forests, lands of forestry potential (Class VII and VIII soils), (mangroves, estuaries, rias, saltmarshes, coastal lagoons, swamps, flooded forests, salt flats), and wetlands.
The validity of classification documents issued by private professionals shall be subject to the approval of the AC with territorial jurisdiction over the area. The AC of SINAC with jurisdiction over the ZMT shall also be responsible for the verification, inspection, boundary demarcation (deslinde), 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 N° 6043, since the Coastal Regulatory Plan is the land-use planning instrument that defines and locates all zones available for concession within the ZMT and for the classification of the ZMT at the level of cadastral maps (planos de catastro). Therefore, the Coastal Regulatory Plan must clearly and expressly indicate the PNE areas so that they are not included in the total area available for concession." 15.—That Decreto Ejecutivo N° 42760-MINAE Criterios técnicos para la ubicación, identificación, clasificación y delimitación de ecosistemas de humedal of March 7, 2022, in its Article 14, establishes that: "Complementary technical considerations for mangroves.
The respective Conservation Area, together with IGN, must verify in the field the existence of mangrove and proceed with its delimitation, in accordance with the authority of each institution as indicated by the legal framework. For the identification of a mangrove, the presence of trees of any of the species listed in Anexo I of this decree shall be taken as the determining parameter; likewise, the estuaries and channels within these ecosystems are included. The boundary is established up to 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 'List of flora by wetland type according to the landscape classification of Estuarine Wetlands and Saline Flooded Forests (mangroves)', must be taken into account." The mangrove delimitation process must necessarily encompass areas that are degraded or in the process of recovery. Furthermore, within the scope of its authority, the respective Conservation Area must implement the necessary measures to promote such recovery.
16.—That IGN used the georeferenced digital delimitation methodology to delimit the public zone of the ZMT corresponding to a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, District 06° Cuajiniquil, Canton 03° Santa Cruz, Province 05° Guanacaste.
17.—That through official communication SINAC-ACT-OR-DR-1412-2024 of October 4, 2024, signed by Engineer Nelson Marín Mora, Regional Office Director of the Área de Conservación Tempisque (ACT), the Technical Survey and Delimitation Report No. ACT-OR-T-1409-2024, prepared by Isaac Cisneros González, Surveying Engineer of the Regional Office of ACT, dated October 3, 2024, was submitted and approved.
18.—That the delimitation of the public zone of the ZMT mangrove was carried out by ACT pursuant to Technical Survey and Delimitation Report No. ACT-OR-T-1409-2024, prepared by Isaac Cisneros González, Surveying Engineer of the Regional Office of ACT, with the technical support described in report ACT-OSRSCC-1040-2024 of October 1, 2024, prepared by Engineer Orlando Matarrita Suárez, Santa Cruz–Carrillo Sub-Regional Head of ACT.
19.—That through official communication DIG-GDF-016-2026 of January 22, 2026, generated by the Topography Sub-Process of the Department of Geodesy and Geophysics of IGN, the Technical Review Report for the publication of the georeferenced digital delimitation of the public zone DIG-GDF-004-2026-PU-INF of January 15, 2026, was forwarded to the IGN Directorate in connection with the work carried out by the Regional Office of ACT regarding the delimitation of a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, technically endorsing the delimitation performed for publication.
20.—That Article 140 of Ley N° 6227 Ley General de la Administración Pública of May 2, 1978, and its amendments, states that "an administrative act shall take effect after it has been communicated to the administered party, except when it exclusively grants rights, in which case it shall take effect from the moment it is adopted"; a provision that must necessarily be read in conjunction with Article 240, paragraph 1) of the same body of law, which defines the appropriate instrument for communicating acts of a general nature by stating: "General acts shall be communicated by publication and specific acts by notification." ANNOUNCES:
- 1That on September 29, 2024, staff of ACT carried out fieldwork for the georeferenced digital delimitation, referenced to the national coordinate system, of the public zone of a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, District 06° Cuajiniquil, Canton 03° Santa Cruz, Province 05° Guanacaste.
2°—IGN hereby publishes the georeferenced digital delimitation of the public zone consisting of 11 points that describe a sector of a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, District 06° Cuajiniquil, Canton 03° Santa Cruz, Province 05° Guanacaste, based on the Reglamento de Especificaciones para la Delimitación de la zona pública de la Zona Marítimo Terrestre and the methodology used and validated by ACT (SINAC-ACT).
- 3That the delimited public zone corresponds to a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, District 06° Cuajiniquil, Canton 03° Santa Cruz, Province 05° Guanacaste, in accordance with official communications DIG-GDF-016-2026 of January 22, 2026, generated by the Topography Sub-Process of the Department of Geodesy and Geophysics of IGN, SINAC-ACT-OR-DR-1412-2024 of October 4, 2024, and ACT-OR-T-1409-2024 issued by the Regional Office of ACT.
4°—The public zone of the ZMT corresponding to a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, District 06° Cuajiniquil, Canton 03° Santa Cruz, Province 05° Guanacaste, with respect to the coordinates in the official cartographic projection system of Costa Rica CRTM05 and its update from the CR05 horizontal reference system to CR-SIRGAS, is as follows:
[Coordinate table — embedded as image in source document] 5°—Sectors located in District 06° Cuajiniquil, Canton 03° Santa Cruz, Province 05° Guanacaste that have, as of this date, an official delimitation of the public zone of the ZMT through the placement of boundary markers and the corresponding publication in the Diario Oficial La Gaceta retain their official status.
6°—The official technical data for the georeferenced digital delimitation of the public zone of the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone for a mangrove sector in San Juanillo, District 06° Cuajiniquil, Canton 03° Santa Cruz, Province 05° Guanacaste have been recorded in the IGN Georeferenced Digital Geodatabase (GDG) on the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (ZMT), in vector shapefile format, under the coding: ZONA PUBLICA_mojones.
7°—This notice shall take effect upon publication.
Issued in Curridabat, San José, January 22, 2026.
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