On Friday, Costa Rica's Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) ordered the review of environmental permits for pineapple planting approved during the last year, as part of a controversy over the viability of a company for the cultivation of pineapples setting up in an area with wetlands and archaeological sites.
The MINAE ordered the Environmental Technical Secretariat (Setena) to create an internal commission to analyze the processed cases and then submit a report identifying weaknesses and recommending improvements to the environmental assessment of pineapple cultivation projects.
The commission must also design and execute an inspection protocol for the pineapple projects that received the aforementioned permits.
Costa Rica, which has about 43,000 hectares of pineapple, is one of the main exporters of this fruit worldwide, with annual sales of around 900 million dollars.
Source: EFE