How the IKI supports efforts to protect mangroves and combat ghost fishing

Parliamentary State Secretary of the BMUV visits Costa Rica and, among other things, gains insights into IKI project work

Within the framework of the third UN Ocean Conference, Ms Bettina Hoffmann, Deputy Minister of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), visited Costa Rica and participated in the High Level Event on Ocean Action: Immersed in Change, in San José.

The IKI´s interface project in Costa Rica (ACCION Clima) took the opportunity to conduct a field tour, allowing the German delegation (including Ms Hoffmann, and the German Ambassador in Costa Rica, Mr Daniel Kriener)to learn about the actions that national stakeholders are implementing in the Gulf of Nicoya. 

The main focus of the tour was on ghost fishing, an activity that generates related waste, such as fishing nets. These represent up to 50% of plastic debris in the sea in the country, and have a serious impact on fish, birds and marine mammals that get trapped in them.  

This issue was prioritised at the High Level event, and will also be addressed by the IKI´s interface project for Costa Rica, Central America and the Caribbean, which aims to expand and scale up existing efforts with local stakeholders.

During the tour, the German delegation also visited the mangroves of Puntarenas to learn about the efforts to conserve and restore these important ecosystems. IKI supports these efforts through the Transformative Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Pathways project. 

The mangroves of Puntarenas

The first item on the agenda for the delegation was a visit to the work that Conservation International carried out together with the Pitahaya Integral Development Association and the National Wetlands Program of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) for the restoration of mangroves.

There, the group discussed the ecological importance of mangroves as nurseries for commercially valuable fish, their role in filtering pollutants and for protection against storms and floods, as well as their relevance for local communities that, following a management plan, are dedicated to the extraction of mollusks.

The visitors learned that, in recent decades, mangrove populations have declined considerably due to agricultural and aquaculture practices and environmental pollution.

For this reason, MINAE has declared mangrove protection a national priority and is working with IKI´s Transformative Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Pathways project to reforest the area as part of restoration efforts.

Coast Guard Collection Centre

The tour continued to the “ghost nets” reception point, managed by the National Coast Guard Service, which works on collecting these nets – a critical threat to the inhabitants of the marine-coastal areas – by sea and land. 

75% of the material the reception point collects is debris from ghost fishing, while the remaining 25% corresponds to nets seized by the Coast Guard.

Ninety percent of Costa Rica's territory is marine, providing important habitats, migratory routes, and nesting sites for marine animals such as turtles and whales. Hence the importance of initiatives to reduce impacts on marine biodiversity, such as training for artisanal fishermen.

A first important step was taken in 2021 with IKI funding and the local organisation Asociación Centroamericana para la Economía, Salud y el Ambiente (ACEPESA), which developed an inventory of marine debris in the South Pacific region of the country, from which recommendations were formulated to address the problem.  

According to ACEPESA, the situation identified in the South Pacific coincides with what has been observed in the Central Pacific, where the first efforts to manage ghost fishing are currently underway.

The Minister of Fisheries and Blue Economy of the Republic of Madagascar, Mr. Tsimanaoraty Paubert Mahatante, and the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Costa Rica, Mr. Heiner Méndez Barrientos, also participated in this activity.

Visit to IPS Recycle

The final stop on the tour was the IPS Recycle company, which transforms fishing nets and other plastic waste into new recycled materials by means of a pioneering circular economy initiative.

IPS Recycle, received a local subsidy to purchase equipment necessary for its operations in the previous phase of the IKI´s ACCION Clima project. It now valorises this plastic waste by converting it into plastic plates and boards, which are used for the construction of lifeguard towers at Caldera Beach, as well as manhole covers, lantern lights and others.

Vision for the future

During the second half of 2024, ACCION Clima will seek to scale up actions in cooperation with these allies. It also plans to join the Costa Rican Fishing Federation (FECOP) to expand the scope of awareness and action within the fishing tourism sector, and thus reduce the pressure of nets in the sea.