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Save The Bay

Nursery of the
Humpback Whales

The Golfo Dulce is a unique scenario on the entire Pacific coast of America, from Alaska to Patagonia.

This is the sacred nursery and birthplace of humpback whales

During the migration of both Southern and Northern Hemisphere Whales, hundreds of mothers come each year into this Bay and give birth. Located on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, this gulf Bay is the only known tropical Fjord, narrow and deep gulf on the American continent and with particular oceanographic characteristics.


The entrance from the sea to the gulf is not very deep as it has a maximum of 60 M and then drops to a depth of 250 M to form a trench. National Geographic and Jacques Cousteau named the Golfo Dulce one of the most diverse and important Marine areas of the world. The World Cetacean Alliance WCA just distinguished this Bay as the first Whale Heritage Site.

THE UGLY TRUTH

The greed to boost luxury travel in Costa Rica is destroying at an unprecedented growth rate the beautiful rainforest and our pristine oceans. Developments, hotels, Resorts and marinas are being built in every corner possible. One such development, a luxury resort and Marina is being built in this whale heritage site Nursery of the humpback whales, in Golfito, located inside the Golfo Dulce.

Exploitation of this phenomena of nature under the guise of protecting the whales goes against International laws set in force to protect natural heritage sites.

Link to Marina Bahia Golfito/ Marina in Golfito Costa Rica.

A new 259 slip super yacht Marina is proposed in Puerto Jimenez (also in the Golfo Dulce Bay) called Crocodile Bay Marina. It is in the most bio intense part of the Golfo Dulce and will have devastating impacts on the whales and their habitat. https://www.crocodilebay.com/

This major development will destroy the delicate ecobalance of this Whale Heritage site. We are raising our voices for the whales to stop this devastating encroachment on their sacred Bay. Our mission is to bring worldwide attention, scientific data and halt this marina in its tracks. This movement will not only benefit our corner of the world but also be an example throughout the world to those countries facing the same problems. Funding is necessary to achieve our goals.



Simultaneously there is construction for a massive Pier. Another evasive development structure is going in to the nursery of the whales. The tourism Institute announced that the construction of a new Municipal Pier in Puerto Jimenez in the Osa Peninsula is nearly finished. The municipal dock is planned to be inaugurated in the last week of September, according to the Institute which sponsored the construction. The structure's goal is to make mobility for tourists and residents of the Golfo Dulce area faster and more comfortable. The dock was budgeted for $1.4 million by the Municipality of Garabito and the ministry of public transportation.

This construction features electricity, drinking water, a roofed canopy, and seating for those waiting for transportation in boats. There is an area that will be used for ferry service between the peninsula and Puntarenas Province in the future. The gulf is one of the most popular tourist sites and has the highest development potential due to the viewing of whales and dolphins, the ability to explore waterfalls and trails, and it's proximity to the Corcovado National Park. This is not protecting the whales, dolphins and the abundant wildlife in the National park. This is pure Avarice!

A Beautiful Story…

Last year in the Golfo Dulce, a rare white humpback whale was born. The indigenous call this a "Spirit Whale". She is from a pod of the Southern Hemisphere, and last month she was spotted in Peru making her way back home to her birthplace here in Costa Rica. Imagine what she will feel when she comes upon the destruction of her home….

Additional devastating invasion of the ocean marine life and Whales in Costa Rica:

PROTECT SANTA ELENA BAY, THE SALINAS AND THE WHALES THAT LIVE THERE, FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OF A PORT AND A DRY CHANNEL

Santa Elena and Salinas bays are home to migrating whales, the long-finned pilot whales, which breed, give birth and raise their young there regularly. Other marine mammals also inhabit the area. Large-scale maritime traffic is fatally dangerous for these endangered animals because of the use of marine sonar, which causes serious injuries to their sensory organs, causing them to lose their bearings, resulting in stranding and death. Similarly, the increased noise in the bays is very disturbing for them, restricting their communication.

The seaport, its construction and subsequent intensive shipping traffic causing excessive noise and increased sedimentation below sea level in the bay, are a potential high risk factor for pollution of Santa Elena Bay in the form of fuel spills and shipping accidents that can seriously threaten underwater life, including the nearby Santa Rosa National Park, its submerged Murcielago Islands section and important bird sanctuaries.
Santa Elena Bay is directly adjacent to Thermal Dome, which is at the heart of the Central American Pacific Flyway for whales, tuna, sharks and other marine animals. Marine biologist Sylvia Earle has identified this area as a HOPE SPOT, a place of high importance and rich biodiversity that must be protected and preserved for future generations.

Santa Elena Bay is home to important coral reef habitats, for which increased sediment caused by the construction of the port in the bay is a threatening factor and may cause damage and death.
Santa Elena Bay is an important new ecotourism development site with great potential and the construction of the port and dry channel is a real threat to the development of sustainable ecotourism in the region.

Salinas Bay is a world tourist hot spot for kiteboarding, which would be realistically threatened by increased marine traffic from large transport ships, again threatening the development or maintenance of local ecotourism.
Santa Elena Bay is an important diving area that would also be threatened by the construction of a marina, excessive noise and pollution from shipping. Diving is one of the other important elements of ecotourism development throughout the area. 

The increase in shipping, and especially container ships, is a major risk of potential maritime accidents that could cause fatal pollution of seawater through the spillage of oil and chemical products in Santa Elena Bay and Salinas, which would have immeasurable consequences for populations of breeding seabird colonies and underwater life, including local fisheries.
The proposed construction of a port, dry canal and 10-lane highway from the Pacific to the Caribbean coast is highly environmentally inappropriate and risky, threatens several national parks, animal migrations, and is ecologically highly faulty and unacceptable. 

Given the fact that Costa Rica is perceived as having a high environmental profile in the world and millions of tourists from all over the world come here for nature vacations, it is not possible for its government, parliament or president to promote or even approve such an environmentally defective project for a cargo port and "dry canal" in Santa Elena Bay or Salinas.

Additionally a 1500 room Resort Hotel is being built on the Murcielago island.
Santa Rosa National Park is the first national park established in Costa Rica back in 1971, encompassing over 387 km2 (149 sq mi) or land and water. This national park is part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area World Heritage Site and it protects a plethora of unique flora and fauna. There are land and marine sectors and the Bat Islands (Islas Murciélagos in Spanish) are one marine sector of Santa Rosa National Park.

Environmental JUSTICE

MISSION STATEMENT

Nature Rights are a controversial yet extremely important topic. Many countries and cultures around the world personify nature. They believe that nature is a living entity but also accorded legal personhood rights to it.

Environmental law started off with how beneficial nature would be to man, considering man to be the "most precious" among other things in the world. Under the Stockholm Conference of 1972, it was stated that "Safeguarding the homo sapiens" is the primary objective of environmental laws without "much emphasis on the protection of other components of the environment". In recent times, there has been a shift in the primary objective of environmental laws, from considering man to be the most precious, to Nature being the most precious among other things.

As we enter into the era of extinction we are all faced with a brutal reality.
Man cannot live without nature.
Nature gives us everything for free.
Nature doesn't charge us any money.
Nature deserves to be protected, and to have the same rights as man.

The rights of Mother Earth -to " maintain and generate it's cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary process".
The right of nature to "exist, persist and regenerate".
We also believe that criminalising severe harms to nature ("ecocide") is an extremely important complementary measure that will deter destructive practices"


OUR MISSION:

International petition to the Costa Rican government, the Costa Rican Parliament and the president of Costa Rica for full protection and Nature Rights of the humpback whales and the diverse marine life habitats of the Golfo Dulce, Osa and Salinas Bay, Guanacaste.

To uphold and be accountable for the laws that have been signed and created to date to protect Maritime zones.

To halt the invasive developments that interfere and are detrimental to the cycles, functions and regeneration of the marine life and the delicate ecosystems there within.


"WE ARE THE VOICES OF NATURE "

Costa Rica is a unique and beautifully diverse land of nature. She has given people from around the world extraordinary experiences. "It is time we all give back to her"...

The following link will show you what countries grant legal personhood status to Nature and Why: https://earth.org/nature-rights/

Click here to read the Scientific Data/Impact

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