Creation of the National Geoenvironmental Information Center (CENIGA)Creación del Centro Nacional de Información Geoambiental (CENIGA)

across the entirety of the text - Full Text of Norm 29540 Constitutes the National Center for Geoenvironmental Information as an organ of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Full Text of act: 17878D No. 29540-MINAE No. 29540-MINAE (This executive decree was repealed by Article 19 of executive decree No. 45138 of February 20, 2025, "Creation of the National Center for Geoenvironmental Information (CENIGA) and establishment of the National Environmental Information System (SINIA), and declaration of public interest") THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC AND THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY(*) Based on the constitutional powers conferred by Articles 140, subsections 3) and 18) of the Magna Carta, Article 28, subsection 2 b) of the General Law of Public Administration, Article 2, subsection a) of Law No. 7152, Articles 28, 29, 30 of the Organic Law of the Environment; Article 6 of Law No. 6588, and Articles 41 and 52 of the Hydrocarbons Law, and

1st-That efforts have been made individually by State institutions to establish information systems to enable decision-making in their specific fields of action.

2nd-That these tasks, being individual and without the possibility of integration, constitute a duplication of efforts and State resources, making it imperative to create a mechanism for the present and future geographic and environmental information.

3rd-That technological advancement demands the continuous updating of the information generated, especially with the objective of supporting rational use of the resources protected by the State and fulfilling its obligation to guarantee economic development that is friendly to the environment and the safety of future generations.

4th-That the existence of a specialized technical organ is a necessity for the compilation, processing, and dissemination of national geoenvironmental information, as well as for advising the different State dependencies on the use of the same. Such a characteristic implies the support of a participatory inter-institutional network, usable even by civil society, directly involved in decision-making, by virtue of the principles derived from the 1992 Rio de Janeiro World Summit.

5th-That the Hydrocarbons Law, in its Article 41, establishes obligations for the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons as a dependency of the Ministry of Environment and Energy(*) regarding guaranteeing respect for environmental balance on the occasion of the different activities of exploration, requires strategic planning, for which an updated database is indispensable for decision-making in energy matters in general.

6th-That Article 52 of the Hydrocarbons Law empowers the Directorate of Hydrocarbons to receive information from RECOPE and to dispose of it for the achievement of the purposes of that Directorate.

7th-That the Organic Law of the Environment mandates the Ministry of Environment and Energy(*), as the governing body of natural resources, to establish the country's land-use planning to harmonize the well-being of the population and the preservation of the environment, and for this purpose, it is indispensable to create a center that generates and processes the information that enables planning and decision-making in this matter. Therefore, (*)(Its name modified by Article 11 of the Law "Transfer of the Telecommunications sector from the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications to the Ministry of Science and Technology", No. 9046 of June 25, 2012)

Article 1st-To constitute the National Center for Geoenvironmental Information, CENIGA, as an entity attached to the Directorate of Information Technology.

(As reformed by subsection a) of Article 66 of executive decree No. 35669 of December 4, 2009) Article 2nd-Organization: The National Center for Geoenvironmental Information will have the following structure:

a. An Administrative Coordinator responsible for managing all administrative matters of the Center and relations with other institutions.

b. A Technical Coordinator responsible for coordinating the group of technicians in charge of the Center's own work.

c. A team of technical officials in geographic information systems, geodesy, topography, cartography, geology, correlated engineering, and other branches related to the Center's objectives, who may be requested on loan from the National Geographic Institute of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport; from the Directorate of the National Cadastre of the Ministry of (*)Justice and Peace; and from other institutions related to the Center's objectives. Furthermore, it may count on the support of consultancies deemed relevant for the achievement of its purposes.

(*)(Its name modified by Article 3 of Law No. 8771 of September 14, 2009) d. A Legal Coordinator, who will be in charge of drafting the different agreements and other legal documents specific to the Center, in addition to other matters of that nature submitted to them according to the Center's needs.

e. An Executive Secretary in charge of attending to the various needs of the Coordinating Committee.

f. The three coordinations, together with the Director of Information Technology, make up the Coordinating Committee, which will be subject in all matters to the powers of the Minister of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications.

g. This Coordinating Committee must submit a quarterly report on the Center's work to the Minister.

(As reformed by subsection a) of Article 66 of executive decree No. 35669 of December 4, 2009) Article 3rd-Of the objectives: The National Center for Geoenvironmental Information will have the following objectives:

a. Consolidate the organization of CENIGA to adequately address the scope of its mission and vision.

b. Develop the legal instruments for the formation and operation of the SINIA and the RENIA.

c. Establish a close coordination and support relationship with the SINIA and the RENIA through the mechanisms established in the legal instrument defined.

d. Develop the official system of national environmental statistics and indicators.

e. Develop the comprehensive geographic information system of national coverage for the incorporation and dissemination of fundamental and environmental geographic information.

• f)The National Center for Geoenvironmental Information (CENIGA) will be responsible for designing, building, developing, and administering the National Environmental Information System (SINIA), to facilitate decision-making for the Environment, Energy, Seas, and Land-Use Planning Sector established in decree 38536-MP-PLAN. It must also ensure the development of national reports on the state of the environment.

(As reformed the previous subsection by Article 19 of the Operational Regulations of the Sectoral Planning Secretariat for Environment, Energy, Seas, and Land-Use Planning (SEPLASA), approved via executive decree No. 40710 of August 4, 2017) g. Represent MINAET in national instances and international organizations related to the scope of action of CENIGA and the SINIA.

h. Develop catalogs of environmental information to make them available to interested users.

i. Compile and distribute relevant environmental information.

j. Provide support in the area of national land-use planning, as stipulated by the Organic Law of the Environment.

• k)Support the Sectoral Planning Secretariat for Environment, Energy, Seas, and Land-Use Planning (SEPLASA) in the production and management of information that supports decision-making in the sectoral and intersectoral scope.

(As added the previous subsection by Article 19 of the Operational Regulations of the Sectoral Planning Secretariat for Environment, Energy, Seas, and Land-Use Planning (SEPLASA), approved via executive decree No. 40710 of August 4, 2017) l. Any other task that is assigned.

(The numbering of the previous subsection shifted by Article 19 of the Operational Regulations of the Sectoral Planning Secretariat for Environment, Energy, Seas, and Land-Use Planning (SEPLASA), approved via executive decree No. 40710 of August 4, 2017, which transferred it from the former subsection k) to l)) m) Assume the character of Technical Coordinating Unit for the technical-operational articulation of the National System for Monitoring Land Cover and Land Use and Ecosystems (SIMOCUTE).

(As added the previous subsection by Article 13 of executive decree No. 42886 of March 9, 2021, "Creation and operation of the National System for Monitoring Land Cover and Land Use and Ecosystems (SIMOCUTE)") (As reformed by Article 14 of executive decree No. 37658 of January 29, 2013, "Establishes the National Environmental Information System (SINIA) and reforms executive decree No. 29540 'Constitutes the National Center for Geoenvironmental Information as an organ of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons of the Ministry of Environment and Energy'") Article 4th-To achieve its objectives, CENIGA will propose to the Minister of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, with the prior approval of the Technical Hydrocarbons Council, the signing of inter-institutional, national, or international cooperation agreements, whether for the transfer or exchange of information, as well as for training and contribution of financial, technical, human, and any other kind of resources, both in the public and private sectors, for the better performance of its functions.

(As reformed by the sole article of Executive Decree No. 30024-MINAE, of November 2, 2001) (Note from Sinalevi: The reform made to this article by executive decree No. 30024 of November 2, 2001, was subsequently repealed by subsection c) of Article 67 of executive decree No. 35669 of December 4, 2009. It is noted that this repeal has not been applied to this text, because the issuing entity does not expressly indicate that, as a consequence, it must revert to the state prior to said reform)

Considering:

Decree:

en la totalidad del texto - Texto Completo Norma 29540 Constituye el Centro Nacional de Información Geoambiental como un órgano de la Dirección General de Hidrocarburos del Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía Texto Completo acta: 17878D Nº 29540-MINAE Nº 29540-MINAE (Este decreto ejecutivo fue derogado por el artículo 19 del decreto ejecutivo N° 45138 del 20 de febrero del 2025 "Creación del Centro Nacional de Información Geoambiental (CENIGA) y establecimiento del Sistema Nacional de Información Ambiental (SINIA), y declaratoria de interés público") EL PRESIDENTE DE LA REPÚBLICA Y LA MINISTRA DE AMBIENTE Y ENERGÍA(*) Con fundamento en las facultades constitucionales que confieren los artículos 140 incisos 3) y 18) de la Carta Magna, el artículo 28 inciso 2 b) de la Ley General de la Administración Pública, el artículo 2º inciso a) de la Ley N° 7152, los artículos 28, 29, 30 de la Ley Orgánica del Ambiente; artículo 6º de la Ley N° 6588 y los artículos 41 y 52 de la Ley de Hidrocarburos, y

1. 1Que se han realizado esfuerzos a nivel individual por parte de las instituciones del Estado para el establecimiento de sistemas de información que les permita la toma de decisiones en sus específicos campos de acción.
2. 2Que dichas tareas, al ser individuales y sin posibilidad de integración, se constituyen en duplicidad de esfuerzos y de recursos del Estado, por lo que deviene en imperativo crear un engranaje de la información geográfica y ambiental presente y futura.
3. 3Que el avance tecnológico demanda la continua actualización de la información que se genere, especialmente con el objetivo de apoyar un uso racional de los recursos tutelados por el Estado y cumplir con su obligación de garantizar un desarrollo económico que sea amigable con el ambiente y la seguridad de las generaciones futuras.
4. 4Que es menester la existencia de un órgano técnico especializado en la recopilación, proceso y difusión de la información geoambiental nacional, así como en la asesoría a las diferentes dependencias del Estado para el uso de la misma. Tal característica implica el apoyo de una red interinstitucional participativa, utilizable incluso por parte de la sociedad civil, directamente involucrada en la toma de decisiones, en virtud de los principios derivados de la Cumbre Mundial de Río de Janeiro de 1992.
5. 5Que la Ley de Hidrocarburos en su artículo 41 establece obligaciones a la Dirección General de Hidrocarburos como dependencia del Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía(*) en cuanto a garantizar el respeto al equilibrio ambiental con ocasión de las diferentes actividades de exploración,

requiere de un planeamiento estratégico para lo cual es indispensable una base de datos actualizada para la toma de decisiones en materia energética en general.

1. 6Que el artículo 52 de la Ley de Hidrocarburos faculta a la Dirección de Hidrocarburos a recibir información por parte de RECOPE y a disponer de ella para la consecución de los fines de esa Dirección.
2. 7Que la Ley Orgánica del Ambiente le impone al Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía(*), como ente rector de los recursos naturales, el establecimiento del ordenamiento territorial del país para armonizar el bienestar de la población y la preservación del ambiente y para tal efecto es indispensable la creación de un centro que genere y procese la información que permita el planeamiento y la toma de decisiones en esta materia. Por tanto,

(*)(Modificada su denominación por el artículo 11 de la Ley "Traslado del sector Telecomunicaciones del Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones al Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología", N° 9046 del 25 de junio de 2012)

Considerando:

Decretan: