For the purposes of this regulation, the following shall be understood as:
a.— CORBANA: National Banana Corporation.
b.— CNE: National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response.
c.— MOPT: Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
d.— SENARA: National Service of Groundwater, Irrigation, and Drainage.
e.— JAPDEVA: Board of Port Administration and Economic Development of the Atlantic Slope.
f.— Fund or The Fund (FEPI): Special Fund for Prevention and Infrastructure of Banana Producers, established by Executive Decree No. 37313-MAG of August 31, 2012, which is regulated in this decree.
g.—Board of Directors (Junta Directiva): Board of Directors of CORBANA.
h.— Farms (Fincas): Banana production units that contain the plantations, infrastructure, packing plants, and annexed facilities necessary for that purpose.
i.— Banana zones (Zonas bananeras): Those in which banana plantations for export are located, and within this concept, banana plantations isolated from others shall be understood. Included within said concept shall be those rivers that, with their course, or current, or flooding effects, may affect the farms (fincas), their workers, or the surrounding populations (poblaciones aledañas), and the resources may be applied to these when the works are executed outside the banana zones (zonas bananeras), provided that these are related to said rivers and contribute to avoiding or mitigating damage to the farms (fincas), surrounding populations (poblaciones aledañas), or infrastructure serving them.
j.— Infrastructure: Works and installations of a public nature consisting of containment dikes, dredging, and other works, or those that, built by private parties in their time, today are of evident public interest due to their objective of protection and defense against damage that may be caused by the rivers of the Atlantic Slope and other regions of the country to banana farms (fincas) and zones (zonas bananeras), such as containment dikes, bank protections, bridges, armoring, or any other work of such nature.
k.— Surrounding populations (Poblaciones aledañas): Population centers adjacent to the banana farms (fincas) that contribute labor, even if a part of these does not.
l.— Critical infrastructure (Infraestructura crítica): Protection and defense infrastructures against the ravages that rivers may cause, strategic and essential for the normal functioning of banana activity, whose construction and operation is indispensable because there are no alternative solutions in the event of their eventual absence or, if existing, they have a very high cost, so their deterioration or destruction would have a great impact on the activity.
m.— Critical zone (Zona crítica): That continuous geographical banana zone (zona bananera), comprising part or all of a river basin, where several critical infrastructures (infraestructuras críticas) are established, so declared in coordination with the National Commission for Risk Prevention and Emergency Response in accordance with subsection b) of article 2 of Executive Decree No. 37313-MAG of August 31, 2012.
n.— Risk analysis (Análisis de riesgos): The study of the hypotheses of possible threats. This will be necessary to determine and evaluate the existing vulnerabilities in the different banana zones (zonas bananeras), farms (fincas), surrounding populations (poblaciones aledañas), and transportation routes, and the possible repercussions of the deterioration or destruction of the infrastructures.
ñ.— Protection (Protección): All activities intended to guarantee the functionality, continuity, and integrity of the infrastructures, with the purpose of preventing, mitigating, and neutralizing a threat, risk, or vulnerability.
o.— Prioritization of critical zones (Priorización de zonas críticas): A systematic procedure based on risks to the population, economic losses, and recurrence of events in the different critical zones (zonas críticas), in accordance with article 6, which shall establish an order of criticality for these. At least once a year, an identification and review of the criticality of the critical zones (zonas críticas) conceived under subsections h, i, j, and m must be established.
p.— Project Catalog (Catálogo de proyectos): For each of the critical zones (zonas críticas), a project catalog (catálogo de proyectos) may be defined to mitigate imminent risks to the population, to the banana farms (fincas), their workers, the infrastructure—protection, transportation, or essential services for banana activity—to maintain the production and commercialization of the fruit.
The projects will be developed according to the priority of the critical zones (zonas críticas); however, if for reasons of opportunity or imminent risk it is necessary to change the priorities in the execution of the projects, it shall be the Infrastructure Commission in accordance with article 10 that assigns the new priorities, based on reports justifying the corresponding changes.
(Thus amended by article 1 of executive decree No. 42787 of June 21, 2021)