Friday, March 18, 2011

River and border dispute with Nicaragua

This is an aerial view of a river between the Liberia airport and the Pacific, viewed from an airliner on the approach to the airport. This gives me an excuse to talk about a very serious and sad subject regarding a river in Costa Rica.

One section of the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is a river. The Nicaraguan government has recently done some dredging to change the channel. This has diverted the channel towards Costa Rica, and has created more land on the Nicaraguan side of the river.

Costa Rica has filed a claim in an international court, arguing that the border should stay fixed where it was, and not move as the river is diverted. Furthermore, the diversion of the river has caused damage to the environment and wildlife. Nicaragua has sent in troops to the area. This is causing Costa Rica to consider whether it should change its policy of the last 60 years of not having an army. This is very sad. Hopefully the international court will decide this matter peacefully and Nicaragua will respect international law.

We are showing photos of one of the world's most elegant hotels, Villa d' Este, on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.
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6 comments:

  1. JackMarch 18, 2011 at 4:34 AM

    This is a nice, clear, well-composed aerial photo. Did Nicaragua do the dredging for the purpose of adding more land, or did it just happen? Are they fighting over a principle or because there is something valuable in the new land?

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  2. brattcatMarch 18, 2011 at 4:40 AM

    I hope you will answer Jack's questions in an upcoming post, Dave, and keep us updated as events unfold.

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  3. SharonMarch 18, 2011 at 6:27 AM

    I recently heard about this latest disagreement. I hope it does get peacefully resolved. This is a wonderful photo of the river.

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  4. Leif HagenMarch 18, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    "A river runs through it" - that was a movie title too!
    Looks beautiful

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  5. Bob CroweMarch 18, 2011 at 7:08 PM

    I didn't know anything about this. Sounds like a cheap trick on Nicaragua's part. I hope CR doesn't have to change it's honorable non-military tradition.

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  6. KateMarch 18, 2011 at 8:47 PM

    It looks like a very quiet ribbon of a river. Mankind will always find areas of dispute, or so it seems. I hope that the international court will find a fair resolution. Would hate to see CR decide to form an army when they've been so successful for so many years without one.

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