IV. That the Organic Law on the Environment No. 7554 of October 4, 1995, in its Article 28, establishes
"Article 28.- Territorial planning policies. It is the function of the State, the municipalities, and other public entities to define and execute national territorial planning policies, aimed at regulating and promoting human settlements and the economic and social activities of the population, as well as physical-spatial development, in order to achieve harmony between the greater well-being of the population, the use of natural resources, and the conservation of the environment."
V.That the National Development and Public Investment Plan (PNDIP) (*) (MIDEPLAN, 2014), considered the primary official instrument of public policy and development planning for the country, establishes within the Environment, Energy, Seas, and Territorial Planning Sector as a strategic objective: "Strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of the genetic, natural, and cultural heritage, based on territorial and marine planning founded on concerted participation, that ensures respect for, exercise of, and enjoyment of human rights."
(*) (Note from Sinalevi: Its name was thus modified by subsection a) of Article 43 of the Regulation for the Implementation of Law No. 10441 of March 13, 2024, and the Functioning of the National Public Investment System, approved via executive decree No. 45163 of August 8, 2025. Previously indicated as "National Development Plan (PND)")
VI.That Executive Decree No. 38536-MP-PLAN of July 25, 2014, "Organic Regulation of the Executive Branch," creates the Environment, Energy, Seas, and Territorial Planning Sector, under the stewardship of the Minister of Environment and Energy (MINAE), and the Agricultural and Rural Development Sector, under the stewardship of the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock.
VII.That the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), at its 144th Council in June 2012, declared December 5th as World Soil Day.
VIII.That the FAO World Soil Charter established that, as agricultural land is fundamental for the survival and well-being of the human species, being the provider of the largest dietary regime for human beings, spaces for human settlements, industry, commerce, transportation, and for the balance of the biosphere's ecosystems and the mitigation of natural disasters, it requires a sustainable, rational, and intelligent administration and management of these lands and their continental shelf according to the best available technology, with a relevant and supremely important rank.
IX.That in the month of March 2015, on the occasion of the International Year of Soils, the Costa Rican Association of Soil Science, an active member of the Global Soil Partnership, organized the VIII National Soil Congress where the "San José Declaration" was signed on March 18, 2015. In this Declaration, representatives of global soil authorities and Costa Rican governmental authorities with legal powers for this purpose reaffirmed the importance of implementing principles of action before the entire nation and before the sister countries of Latin America and recognized:
a. The fundamental role of soil for human life in terms of the production of food, fibers, and energy.
b. The priority participation of soil in the capture, purification, and storage of water.
c. The unquestionable role of soil in terrestrial ecosystems by participating in carbon capture, recycling, and containing a great biodiversity of organisms, which make it an unavoidable subject of quantification within ecosystem services.
d. Its relationship with urbanism, road infrastructure, and the safeguarding of our cultural heritage.
e. That soil is a finite and fragile natural resource that is in an accelerated process of deterioration, a product of its inadequate management and lack of protection, which highlights the need to make the entire Costa Rican population aware of the solid foundation that soil plays for the survival of life on the planet.
f. That soil as a natural resource finds its specific protection in the provisions of Articles 53, 54, and 55 of the Organic Law on the Environment No. 7554.
g. That the Law on Use, Management, and Conservation of Soils No. 7779 aims for the environmental sustainability of the agricultural and livestock sector.
h. That the Law on Use, Management, and Conservation of Soils No. 7779, and its Regulation, Decree No. 29375 MAG-MINAE-S-HACIENDA-MOPT of August 8, 2000, provide a series of instruments to achieve the sustainability of soils and the agroecological zoning of crops, through the application of good practices and the best available technology.
i. That various scientific studies, such as the National Communications and Climate Change Scenarios for Costa Rica carried out by the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), indicate that global warming will bring negative impacts for the various uses of the continental and insular shelf, which requires taking the necessary precautions to safeguard this asset, both in quantity and quality, and thus meet future demands.
X.That it is imperative that every natural or legal person, public or private, sustainably utilizes and uses the soil resource, in accordance with the land-use capacity; in addition to putting their management activities into practice, internalizing the social and environmental costs, for the adequate use in accordance with the principles of solidarity and social responsibility inherent to the State's guardianship as responsible for organizing and stimulating production through the rational use of land in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, which allows for sustainable development, based on differentiated land uses.
XI.That it is necessary to design and apply new regulatory instruments of an alternative, preventive, and dissuasive character for polluting actions, which act directly on the source, to serve as a complement to traditional control mechanisms, so that the rational and efficient use of soil is incentivized, for the improvement of productive processes and for prevention at the origin of pollution.
XII.That Article 3 of the Law on Use, Management, and Conservation of Soils No. 7779 declares state and private action for the management, conservation, and recovery of soils to be of public interest.
XIII.That in accordance with the Regulation of the Law for the Protection of Citizens from Excessive Administrative Requirements and Procedures, Executive Decree No. 37045-MP-MEIC and its amendments, it was determined that this proposal does not establish or modify procedures, requirements, or formalities that the citizen must comply with, a situation for which the prior control procedure was not carried out.
They Decree:
"Intersectoral Coordination for the Incorporation of the Principles of Neutrality of Land Degradation in the Fight against Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought"