Costa Rica’s Path Forward: Strengthening Enforcement of Environmental Crime Legislation

Maya Khachab

Costa Rica Looks to Get Tough on Organized Environmental Crime - Ileana Fernandez | (Via: The Tico Times)

Introduction 

Costa Rica occupies only 0.03% of the Earth’s surface but hosts 5–6% of global biodiversity, with 26% of its land designated as a protected area. Nestled in Central America between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, Costa Rica is a small country famous for its lush rainforests, rich biodiversity, and environmental leadership. But beneath this glowing reputation lies a growing crisis. Illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and environmental degradation are rising fast, and current systems can’t keep up. If left unchecked, these crimes will reverse decades of hard-won progress in reforestation, conservation, and climate resilience. As a founding member of the United Nations and an early signatory to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, Costa Rica must honor its commitments and take immediate action to reinforce conservation and enforcement efforts. 

Policy Challenges

In the 1940s, rainforests covered about 75% of Costa Rica’s land, but by the 1980s, logging had reduced forest cover to a new low of 21%. In response, the government passed the Biodiversity Law No. 7788 (1998), which created the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) to oversee more than 160 protected areas, and the Environmental Organic Law No. 7554 (1995), which established the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) to manage the nation’s environmental resources.  

Most notably, in 1997, the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) program was created to incentivize landowners to implement sustainable land-use practices and restore forested areas. As a result, Costa Rica became the first tropical country to reverse deforestation, with over 60% forest cover and over half a million plant and animal species.  

However, despite robust legislation, enforcement of these laws is undermined by chronic underfunding, limited staffing, and weak interagency coordination. With fewer than 400 park rangers, SINAC struggles to monitor and protect remote, vulnerable areas, so illegal activity often goes unchecked. Offenders are rarely prosecuted, and weak penalties fail to deter crime. Former Environment Minister Carlos Manuel Rodríguez even reported that judges often released poachers arrested in national parks. 

Despite passing the Wildlife Conservation Law No. 7317 (1998), which bans the capture and trade of wild animals, and Forest Law No. 7575 (1996), which prohibits land-use changes and requires permits for timber extraction, Costa Rica has nonetheless emerged as both a key transit hub in Latin America’s $20 billion illicit wildlife trade and a significant contributor to global timber mislabeling. 

Between March 2023 and March 2024, MINAE received 7,240 environmental crime reports through SITADA, Costa Rica’s citizen reporting platform. Illegal logging topped the list (2,600 cases), followed by unauthorized wood transport, wildlife trafficking, and hunting in protected areas.  

Weak enforcement of environmental legislation is accelerating deforestation and ecosystem degradation, posing an immediate threat to Costa Rica’s biodiversity, climate stability, and public well-being. The continued loss of forest cover and ecological integrity is weakening vital natural systems that regulate water, store carbon, and protect against disasters, ultimately endangering the safety and livelihoods of its own people, particularly those in rural and Indigenous communities.  

Policy Proposal 

To effectively combat environmental crime, Costa Rica must adopt a coordinated, four-pillar strategy that strengthens enforcement, empowers communities, and builds institutional accountability. 

1. Establish a National Environmental Crime Intelligence Unit (NECIU) 

Although SITADA and SINAC are operationally linked, the lack of a fully integrated enforcement system limits transparency, coordination, and case tracking. Despite Costa Rica’s participation in international frameworks like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), bilateral enforcement remains weak, leaving the country vulnerable to transnational environmental crimes. 

Costa Rica should establish a centralized National Environmental Crime Intelligence Unit (NECIU) that unifies data from SITADA, SINAC, MINAE, environmental courts, and other agencies. NECIU would serve as a virtual and physical hub responsible for tracking offenses, identifying trends, and improving interagency coordination. 

It would also deploy drone and satellite surveillance to monitor high-risk regions such as Limón, Upala, and Buenos Aires to guide ranger deployment. This modernization would close enforcement gaps and improve Costa Rica’s ability to uphold environmental laws. 

2. Expand Community Conservation Agreements 

Costa Rica must scale its Payment for Environmental Services (PES) program and the Osa Conservation model by formalizing Community Conservation Agreements with rural and Indigenous communities. These agreements would designate residents as ecosystem guardians and provide stipends, training, and monitoring tools. Per-hectare compensation ensures fairness and long-term conservation. 

Guatemala’s participatory PES model in Alta Verapaz offers valuable lessons. There, conservation incentives were co-designed with farmers, NGOs, and officials to reflect both environmental and economic needs. The program showed that local participation builds trust and policy buy-in, while payments that offset income risk promote lasting engagement. 

By applying these principles, Costa Rica can build more effective, equitable conservation agreements—especially in areas with low institutional trust. 

3. Enforce Transparent Permit Audits 

To fight corruption and improve oversight, Costa Rica should implement independent annual audits of forestry, fishery, and land-use permits. These audits would detect fraud, expose misuse by public officials, and reinforce accountability. 

Findings should be integrated into the NECIU system to identify repeat offenders and systemic weaknesses. Legal accountability for permit abuse is essential to restoring public confidence in environmental governance. 

4. Strengthen Environmental Courts and Regional Cooperation 

Costa Rica must reinforce its environmental judiciary by restoring agency funding and expanding judicial training in environmental law. Greater legal capacity will improve conviction rates and ensure consistent prosecution of environmental crimes. 

Additionally, Costa Rica should pursue bilateral enforcement protocols with El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, and the United States. These should include joint inspections, intelligence sharing, and harmonized legal tools—modeled after the EU Wildlife Enforcement Group—to disrupt cross-border trafficking and address shared environmental threats. 

Conclusion 

This four-pillar strategy offers an integrated, scalable, and realistic path forward. It strengthens institutional coordination through NECIU, empowers communities with inclusive, compensated conservation roles, restores oversight through audits, and boosts legal and regional enforcement.

Unlike fragmented reforms, this approach addresses the full enforcement chain—from detection to prosecution to community resilience. It positions Costa Rica to meet national goals and reclaim its global environmental leadership. By acting now, Costa Rica can protect biodiversity, support vulnerable communities, and secure long-term ecological and social stability.