Tuesday, November 09, 2010

On Ogle Earth's comment about Nicaragua-Costa Rica-Google border dispute

http://ogleearth.com/2010/11/about-costa-rica-nicaragua-their-border-and-google/

I have shared the following comment on the blog cited above:

A very serious and well grounded approach, much appreciated. Whatever the outcome of this issue shall be, appealing to facts that could be eventually proven before a legitimate tribunal will contribute towards the transformation of the conflict, especially if the Rule of Law prevails.

It is desirable that the outcome may be achieved sooner rather than later, because it is in no party's interest to prolong the dispute. If we aspire to development, both sides of the border should make joint efforts to achieve notoriety for the right reasons.

Costa Rica already shares a National Park across an international border. It is called Parque Nacional La Amistad ("Friendship National Park") and it lies across borders between Costa Rica and Panama.

You cannot choose your neighbors, but you can choose how to relate to them. It is in the best interest of both societies that this issue is settled in a civilized manner. That means, by way of honor and justice, and by way of virtue and harmony.

I believe it is possible to coexist mutually in synergy, Costa Rica and Nicaragua and all their citizens living on either side of the border. It is up to us and nobody else to govern that relationship.

Perhaps Isla Calero, historically Costa Rica's largest island (as learned in every elementary school), and Harbor Head, which Costa Ricans have always acknowledged as Nicaraguan territory, should belong to a common National Park across borders. It is already a natural sanctuary, and neither the birds nor the fish wonder on which side of the border they are. If we do not preserve the area co-jointly, making efforts to enrich the surrounding ecosystem together, neither one will survive if either chooses to degrade the natural habitat. A port or an interoceanic channel anywhere within 10 km. of the region would alter its ecosystem perhaps permanently, and could eventually disappear. A few machines can turn Isla Calero-Harbor Head into human-made infrastructure in a matter of weeks.

Therefore, the most important and urgent issue is to immediately ensure that the controversy both countries are engaged in, does not threaten the most sensitive value at stake, which is biodiversity itself, including all forms of life.

If, beyond the environmental issues, there has been a clear violation of international law and one of the parties identifies a possible source of mistake, then an apology would be the shortest path to reconciliation.

It is indeed a very peculiar geography in the area. Difficult to imagine another river delta between two countries, where the river itself belongs to the territory of only one of them, that has such a peculiar dividing line. In fact, there are very few cases in which a river dividing two countries belongs to only one of them.

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