10.- That Law N° 7575, called the Forestry Law (Ley Forestal), dated February 13, 1996, in its Article 16, establishes that the Ministry of Environment and Energy shall delimit on the ground the boundaries of the areas that make up the State's Natural Heritage (Patrimonio Natural del Estado).
11.- That Law N° 6043 establishes in its Article 1 of Chapter I, General Provisions, that "The maritime terrestrial zone constitutes part of the national heritage, belongs to the State, and is inalienable and imprescriptible. Its protection, as well as that of its natural resources, is an obligation of the State, its institutions, and all inhabitants of the country. Its use and exploitation are subject to the provisions of this law." 12.- That according to Article 11 of Chapter I, General Provisions of Law N° 6043, it establishes that "The public zone is also, whatever its extension, that occupied by all mangroves (manglares) of the continental and insular coastlines and estuaries (esteros) of the national territory." 13.- That Executive Decree N° 36786-MINAET, titled Manual for the Classification of Lands Dedicated to the Conservation of Natural Resources within the Zona Marítimo Terrestre in Costa Rica, published in La Gaceta N° 217 on November 11, 2011, establishes among its objectives "Identify within the Zona Marítimo Terrestre those lands that classify as forests, of forest aptitude (Class VII and VIII soils), wetlands (mangroves (manglares), estuaries (esteros), rías, marshes (marismas), coastal lagoons (lagunas costeras), swamps (pantanos), flooded forests (bosques anegados), salt flats (salitrales)), to certify them and incorporate them as part of the State's Natural Heritage (Patrimonio Natural del Estado, PNE)." 14.- That Executive Decree N° 36786-MINAET, in point III.- Competencies for delimitation and certification, establishes that "The classification of lands within the ZMT shall correspond to the Conservation Areas (Áreas de Conservación, AC) of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) and to private professionals duly accredited by the respective Professional Associations to classify forests, lands of forest aptitude (Class VII and VIII soils), (mangroves (manglares), estuaries (esteros), rías, marshes (marismas), coastal lagoons (lagunas costeras), swamps (pantanos), flooded forests (bosques anegados), salt flats (salitrales)), and wetlands.
The validity of the classification documents issued by private professionals shall be subject to the approval issued by the AC with the corresponding territorial competence. The ACs of SINAC with jurisdiction in the ZMT shall also be responsible for the verification, oversight, demarcation (deslinde), and certification of the lands of the State's Natural Heritage and the protection zones.
The location and delimitation of the areas of the State's Natural Heritage within the Zona Marítimo Terrestre must be carried out as part of the approval process of the Coastal Regulatory Plan (Plan Regulador Costero, PRC), defined by Law 6043, since the Coastal Regulatory Plan is the territorial planning instrument that defines and locates all the zones to be granted in concession within the ZMT and for its classification at the level of cadastral plans (planos de catastro). Therefore, the Coastal Regulatory Plan must clearly and expressly indicate the PNE areas so as not to count them in the total area to be concessioned.
15.- That by official communication SINAC-ACOPAC-OSRAP-320-2021, dated May 19, 2021, signed by Ms. Ingrid Campos Leiva, Head of the Aguirre Parrita Subregion of the Central Pacific Conservation Area (Área de Conservación Pacífico Central) of the National System of Conservation Areas of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, received by the IGN on May 20, 2021, we were given the Technical Report regarding a field visit in Quepos, REF/SINAC-ACOPAC-D-608-2021, by which they were able to determine the mangrove (manglar) boundary located in the sector known as El Cocal, Quepos, Puntarenas, based on Executive Decree N° 36786-MINAET.
16.- That the Technical Report regarding a field visit in Quepos, REF/SINAC-ACOPAC-D-608-2021, presents all the technical information on the characterization, identification, and delimitation of the estuary-mangrove (estero-manglar) ecosystems in the sector known as El Cocal, Quepos, Puntarenas.
17.- The IGN, respecting the legal powers and competencies of SINAC-MINAE, carried out the respective coordination with the Central Pacific Conservation Area for it to determine the mangrove (manglar) boundary located in the sector known as El Cocal, Quepos, Puntarenas, for its subsequent publication in the official gazette La Gaceta, in accordance with the instructions of the Constitutional Chamber (Sala Constitucional) in its Resolution N° 2021002741 of nine hours and fifteen minutes on February twelfth, two thousand twenty-one, and notified to the IGN on February eighteenth, two thousand twenty-one.
18.- That by means of the Technical Report regarding a field visit in Quepos, REF/SINAC-ACOPAC-D-608-2021, prepared by the Central Pacific Conservation Area of SINAC-MINAE, it delimits the sector known as El Cocal, Quepos, Puntarenas, through points numbered from 9 adjusted to M300 (published in the official gazette La Gaceta N° 236 of December 9, 1992) to point 10 up to point 37, joined by the digital line named Ecosistema de Manglar included in the same report.
19.- That by official communication DIG-TOT-0395-2021, dated July 14, 2021, issued by the Official Boundaries Subprocess of the Topographic and Territory Observation Department of the IGN, the Central Pacific Conservation Area of SINAC-MINAE was notified that the Technical Report regarding a field visit in Quepos, REF/SINAC-ACOPAC-D-608-2021, is received.
20.- That Article 140 of Law N° 6227 states that "The administrative act shall produce its effect after being communicated to the administered party, except if it only grants rights, in which case it shall produce it from the moment it is adopted," a provision that must necessarily be related to Article 240 of the same regulatory body, which defines the ideal instrument for communicating acts of a generic nature by stating that "General acts shall be communicated by publication and specific acts by notification." Communicates:
First.- The Instituto Geográfico Nacional publishes in the sector of El Cocal, located in district N° 01 Quepos, canton N° 06 of Quepos, province N° 06 of Puntarenas, by means of the methodology used and validated by the Central Pacific Conservation Area (ACOPAC) of SINAC-MINAE, the digital georeferenced delimitation of the public zone of the Zona Marítimo Terrestre in said sector.
Second.- The public zone of the Zona Marítimo Terrestre delimited in the sector known as El Cocal, Quepos, Puntarenas, corresponds to the line joining boundary marker (mojón) M300 (published in the official gazette La Gaceta N° 236 of December 9, 1992) to point 10 up to point 37, joined by the digital line named Ecosistema de Manglar.
Third.- The delimitation of the estuary-mangrove (estero-manglar) in the sector known as El Cocal, Quepos, Puntarenas, corresponding to the State's Natural Heritage, is published, officialized by official communication SINAC-ACOPAC-OSRAP-320-2021 dated May 19, 2021, and in accordance with the Technical Report regarding a field visit in Quepos, REF/SINAC-ACOPAC-D-608-2021.
Fourth.- The official technical data of the digital georeferenced delimitation of the public zone of the Zona Marítimo Terrestre of the El Cocal estuary-mangrove (estero-manglar) sector, located in district N° 01 Quepos, canton N° 06 of Quepos, province N° 06 of Puntarenas, have been registered in the Digital Georeferenced Geodatabase (GDG) of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) on the Zona Marítimo Terrestre (ZMT), in a file with vector shape format, under the codification RN/IGN_GDG-IGN-ZMT digital lines.
Fifth: Effective as of its publication.
Given in Curridabat, San José, on the 15th day of the month of July of the year 2021.