Costa Rica has passed, at its second reading, a law requiring the construction of wildlife crossings on the country’s roads
By: ECIJA Costa Rica Editorial Team.
On 4 August, the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica approved, at its second reading, legislative bill No. 23.166, known as the Law to Guarantee Wildlife Crossings in Infrastructure. The reform introduces a new Article 31 bis to the Organic Law on the Environment and marks a milestone in wildlife protection: for the first time, the country has an explicit legal obligation to design and construct its roads and public works with wildlife crossing them in mind.
The measure addresses a reality that environmental authorities have been documenting for years. According to figures from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE), between 1996 and 2021 an estimated 16,000 wild animals were killed on just 3 per cent of the national road network. Roads such as the 140-708 (San Carlos–Bajos del Torcón), Route 253 (Comunidad–Papagayo) and Route 34 (Carara National Park) account for thousands of deaths among mammals, amphibians and other species, including manigordos and tapirs. On Route 32 alone, 786 animals have lost their lives since 2015, including sloths, anteaters and ocelots.
“This law moves the protection of wildlife from the page to the stage where decisions are actually made: the design of infrastructure. We are no longer talking about a last-minute corrective measure, but rather an obligation that must be considered from the moment a project is merely an idea,” explained Marco Quesada, Director of Environmental Law at ECIJA Costa Rica.
Under the new legislation, all public infrastructure that affects the movement of wildlife – whether terrestrial or aquatic – must include appropriate crossings to allow for their safe passage, particularly in protected areas, national parks, forest reserves and other locations identified as natural crossing points. The law also requires coordination with the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) for the technical assessment of these measures, the adaptation of existing and operational roads, and verification by the National Technical Environmental Secretariat of compliance with these commitments as a prerequisite for granting environmental feasibility approval for each project.
“For the private sector, the change is significant: public bodies, developers, environmental consultants and project operators will have to review how they identify, justify, design and implement ecological connectivity measures throughout the entire life cycle of a project, starting from the pre-investment stage,” explained Quesada.
The legislation stipulates that the Executive must issue implementing regulations, without setting a specific deadline for this, whilst SINAC will have up to twenty-four months after the regulations come into force to begin the priority identification of natural wildlife crossings and vulnerable points within existing linear infrastructure.
With this approval at the second reading, Costa Rica joins the regional trend of incorporating ecological connectivity as a mandatory—rather than optional—criterion in infrastructure planning, reinforcing its position as a leader in environmental policy.
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ECIJA is a leading global law firm, with a presence in more than 20 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Its environmental law practice in Costa Rica advises national and multinational companies, developers and public institutions on regulatory compliance, risk management and the incorporation of sustainability criteria into their projects.