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Conflict Resolution of the Boruca Hydro-Energy Project: Renewable Energy Production in Costa Rica
Author(s): Warren R. Haffar (Author), Jurgen Carls
- Publisher: Continuum
- Publication Date: 22 Dec. 2011
- Language: English
- Print length: 234 pages
- ISBN-10: 1441174168
- ISBN-13: 9781441174161
Book Description
Conflict Resolution of the Boruca Hydro-Energy Project is a case study that aims to profile best practices for sustainable development, indigenous human rights, and conflict resolution. In 2003, a joint project was developed between the United Nations University of Peace and the International Peace and Conflict Resolution program at Arcadia University to study the Boruca hydroelectrical conflict in Costa Rica. The aim was to bring together theory and practice and to reveal the link between peace and conflict resolution and sustainable development. Through partnerships with the Kan Tan Ecological Project and the indigenous communities in the region, and field studies to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and local Civil Society Organizations, faculty and students utilized the mediation framework to identify the needs and interests of the primary conflict stakeholders. Conflict Resolution of the Boruca Hydro-Energy Project represents the culmination of this fieldwork and tests the mediation framework as suitable model for the resolution of environmental conflicts in Latin America. The Boruca project, proposed in the 1970s by the state-run corporation Instituto Costarricense De Electridad (I.C.E.), will build a dam in the Boruca Canyon, changing the flow of the Térraba River and creating an artificial lake of 25.000 hectares. The largest of its kind in Central America, this project will generate approximately 1,500 megawatts and increase Costa Rica’s energy production capability by as much as 50%. For I.C.E., not only will the project satisfy national electrical demand, it will also stimulate economic growth, assist in the development of new technological corridors and new tourism projects, increase employment opportunities, and improve the quality of life for indigenous peoples living in Boruca area. For the indigenous population, however, the project represents a violation of their fundamental human r
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘Carls and Haffar describe the efforts to mediate between the local and national interests of the government of Costa Rica, the indigenous people, and the World Bank and other potential financing institutions, regarding construction of the hydroelectric dam in southern Costa Rica. The study was conducted as a learning tool for students in the two universities. It covers energy production and needs in developing countries, the Boruca project itself, rethinking project design, and regional development implications in the south of Costa Rica. The conflict primarily involved environmental degradation and loss of human rights, they conclude, and was resolved by listening carefully to stakeholder positions, interests, fears, and needs. They also argue that the resolution could have been earlier and easier if an adequate discussion forum had been available from the start.’ —Eithne O’Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.
About the Author
Jurgen Carls serves as Government Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture in Lisbon, Portugal and freelance consultant to the FAO. He is Special Advisor for the UN-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. He also lectures on sustainable development at the Humboldt University of Berlin.
