Costa Rica: Information about the substitution of palm trees in place of banana trees by Standard Brands or other banana producers in Costa Rica

According to a representative of the Rain Forest Alliance, an environmental NGO based in New York and Costa Rica and dedicated to rain forest preservation, the main banana companies moved out of the Golfito area (south west Costa Rica) and relocated on the Caribbean coast (Limon area) ten years ago (11 May 1995). The representative stated that the companies argued that labor problems were the main reason for the move to the Caribbean coast (ibid.). However, according to the representative, the real reason was that the soil was so badly contaminated that no other food crops could grow on it except African oil palm.

He indicated that since the 1950s, the banana companies have contaminated their banana plantations through extensive use of a mixture of copper-based pesticides.

For more detailed information on this substitution practice, please consult the attached letter from the co-director of Rain Forest Alliance.

According to an expert on pesticides at the World Resources Institute in Washington DC who conducted research on the impact of pesticides on Costa Rican banana plantations (12 May 1995).

According to this expert, contamination due to the use of copper-based pesticides in the Golfito area started in the 1950s but the planting of African oil palm trees only started ten years ago. The source reported that it is common practice for banana companies to "self-destroy" part of their own plantations, mainly through slash and burn practices, in order to collect insurances and to raise the price of the fruit (ibid.). For detailed information on pesticide use and its impact, please consult the attached article from Geoforum magazine provided to the DIRB by the expert of the World Resources Institute.

For recent information on the banana industry in Costa Rica, please consult the attached documents.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Rain Forest Alliance, San Jose, Costa Rica. 11 May 1995. Telephone interview with a representative.

World Resources Institute, Washington, DC. 12 May 1995. Telephone interview with a pesticides expert.

Attachments

Geoforum. 1991. Vol. 22, No. 1. Lori Ann Thrupp. "Long-term Losses from Accumulation of Pesticide Residues: a Case of Persistent Copper Toxicity in Soils of Costa Rica."

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 12 May 1994. Vol. 26, No. 17. Nicki Solloway. "Agrochemical Blamed For Plantation Illnesses,"

p. 6.

_____. 17 March 1994. Vol. 26, No. 9. "Working Children Are Victims of Pesticides," p. 2.

_____. 17 March 1994. Vol. 26, No. 9. "Rice Fields Threaten Costa Rican Forest," p. 6.

_____. 4 November 1993. Vol. 25, No. 40. Larry Luxner. "EC Tariffs Decimate Region's Banana Industry," p. 2.

_____. 2 April 1992. Vol. 24, No. 12. John McPhaul. "Costa Rican Banana Companies Under Pressure," p. 2.

Rain Forest Alliance. Tropical Conservation News bureau. San Jose, Costa Rica. 12 May 1995. Letter to the DIRB from the co-director.

Additional Sources Consulted

Central America Newspak [Austin, Tx]. 1992-1994.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. 1992-1994.

Central America Update [Toronto]. 1991-1994.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA). 1991-1994. Annual Reports: General Concerns and Brief Country Reports.

Latin America Update [Washington]. Monthly.

Latin American Newsletters [London]. Monthly.

Latin American Regional Reports: Caribbean and Central America Report

Latin American Special Reports [London].

Trade Unions Bulletin [London]. Amnesty International. Monthly.

Trade Unions in the World. 1989. London: St. James Press.