The National Council of Conservation Areas is authorized to approve contracts and concessions for non-essential services and activities within state-owned protected wild areas (áreas silvestres protegidas), except for the exercise of responsibilities that this and other laws exclusively entrust to the Executive Branch through the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), such as protection and surveillance, the definition and monitoring of strategies, plans, and budgets of the conservation areas. Under no circumstances may these concessions and contracts include authorization for third-party access to elements of biodiversity or the exploitation of natural resources; nor the construction of private buildings.
Non-essential services and activities shall be: parking lots, sanitary facilities, the administration of physical installations, food services, shops, the construction and administration of trails, visitor management, and others defined by the Regional Council of the Conservation Area, by means of a technical study that justifies it.
These concessions and contracts may be granted solely and exclusively to community development associations, cooperatives, microenterprises registered with the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Commerce (MEIC), or national non-profit social organizations that have objectives supporting the conservation of natural resources, that incorporate environmental management within their processes and the concession area, and with their legal status in force, provided they are integrated and directly controlled by inhabitants of the communities located in the zone of influence of the respective protected wild area.
The conservation areas shall provide ample information to these communities regarding the services they decide to grant under concession and shall establish a registry of local organizations to ensure the broadest possible participation in the contracting processes.
The National Training Institute (INA), in coordination with other public educational entities and the respective municipalities, shall create training and technical instruction programs oriented primarily toward the communities located in the zone of influence of the protected wild areas, so that they can take advantage of the benefits of this provision.
The concessionaires or permit holders shall submit satisfactory external audits, conducted in the last year; all at the discretion of the Regional Council of the Conservation Area.
SINGLE TRANSITORY PROVISION- Concessions or contracts that do not comply with the provisions of this reform of Article 39 of Law No. 7788, Biodiversity Law, of 30 April 1998, and were granted prior to the entry into force of this law, shall remain in force in respect of acquired rights, provided that the concessionaires or permit holders comply with all of their legal and contractual obligations. However, no contract or concession that does not conform to the provisions of Article 39 shall be extended or renewed, once the term for which it was granted has expired.
It shall enter into force upon its publication.
Issued at the Presidency of the Republic, San José, on the twenty-ninth day of October of the year two thousand nineteen.
Date of generation: 4/5/2026 17:50:51 Go to the beginning of the document