Urban Natural Parks will be the new modality of protected wild areas in our country.

This week a new type of protected wilderness area (ASP) was created for forests and ecosystems at risk located in urban areas, called Urban Natural Parks (PNU), through which an attempt will be made to take greater care of these natural beauties in the center of the country.

From now on there will also be national parks or wildlife refuges in the metropolitan area, a very important step in seeking to be an example at an international level.

Before this decision was made, there was no specific category for the care of these forest spaces and urban ecosystems; however, from now on, Urban Natural Parks (PANU) will be the tenth branch of conservation zones that our country has.

The idea behind this declaration is to prevent works and activities that affect existing ecosystems, to positively stimulate the connection of the green part of the city with the rivers and, very importantly, to safeguard the capture of carbon dioxide.

This measure will be under the executive decree
No. 42742-MINAE, signed by the President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado, and the Minister of Environment and Energy, Andrea Meza.

The activity took place within the framework of the second anniversary of the National Decarbonization Plan and was also attended by the UNDP Resident Representative in Costa Rica, José Vicente Troya, the mayor of Curridabat, Jimmy Cruz, as well as ministers and deputies of the Republic.

To classify an area as an Urban Natural Park (PNU), a technical study and a process with the communities, municipalities, and, in the case of private lands, with the owners, must be carried out.

The administration of this new modality will be in charge of the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac), where the National Program of Urban Natural Parks will be created to carry out this entire process.

Written by: Enrique Hernández

General Management: Marco Montero