DRR-Team Mission Report · DRR-TEAM MISSION REPORT Costa Rica 28 April ‘16 - 2 - 28 April 2016...

DRR-TEAM MISSION REPORT

Costa Rica 28 April ‘16 - 1 -

DRR-Team Mission Report

Costa Rica

March 6-13, 2016



28 April 2016

Mission Report, Final

DRR-TEAM Costa Rica

Document title Mission Report

Status Final

Date 28 April 2016

Project name DRR - Water Related Risks in Costa Rica

Photos made available by Amber Douma, Albert Wiggers, Klaas de Groot

Reference

Written by Klaas de Groot, Monica Altamirano, Albert Wiggers

Checked by RVO / Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, San

José, Costa Rica

Date/initials check

Approved by



SUMMARY

From March 6-13, 2016 the second DRR-Team mission took place to assist Costa Rica with

reducing risks of water related disaster. This mission focused on flood risk-related challenges in the

catchments draining towards the Caribbean. A first report was presented with the information

generated during the first mission that took place from 22-28 November of 2015. That mission

focused on the drought related challenges in the Corredor Seco and more specifically in the

province of Guanacaste (DRR Scoping mission Costa Rica, 24 February 2016).

The DRR-Team was invited by the ‘Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de

Emergencias’ (CNE or National Commission on Risk Prevention and Emergency Management) to

provide ideas on short and long term interventions to mitigate or adapt to the effects of the

drought and flooding. These extremes are the result of climate variability generally believed to be

caused by the phenomenon known as El-Niño. This report provides an overview of the meetings

that have taken place, the field trip that was made to the region of Limón and the ideas /

interventions that came out of the meetings to face the actual challenges.

The mission team was composed of three representatives of the Dutch Water Sector:

Klaas de Groot / Integrated Water Resources Management

Albert Wiggers / Civil Engineer and flood risk management

Monica Altamirano / Financial expert

During the mission the DRR-Team was supported on a continuous basis by the Embassy of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands. Mr. Alexander Kofman attended a series of the meetings and was

informed of other activities. Amber Douma assisted in all meetings and has been very helpful in

organizing our calendars and making it possible to achieve the objectives of the scoping mission.

Manny actors were visited. These were representatives of national as well as local authorities, IFI’s,

NGO’s, Universities, the Private Sector and from local communities.

During the mission some immediate interventions were identified as well as medium and long-term

measures. Furthermore, the experiences in the Netherlands were discussed, particularly concerning

potential interventions to reduce risks related to flooding and drought in Costa Rica.

Immediate measures to reduce risks are technical interventions like the fortification of existing

dikes and other waterworks and the dredging of existing water bodies. Also early warning systems

can be put in place over a short period but the capacity to prognosticate will take more time. Care

should be taken that short term interventions are no-regret measures, meaning that they have no

negative effects in upstream or downstream sections and that the interventions will not obstruct

the implementation of long term measurements. That er part of the optimal strategy to reduce

risks.

Long term interventions should be part of an integrated approach on catchment management. In

many cases local interventions are insufficiently assessed in relation to up- or downstream effects.

In the absence of a catchment analysis it is not possible to identify measures that could be carried

out in upstream or downstream areas that have comparable effects but are more sustainable or

less costly. Many organizations are responsible for specific subjects related to water management.

Without intensive, structured interaction between these organizations the risk exists that where

overlap exists, it will not be clear who is responsible. For some of the catchments in on the

Caribbean slopes this situation is improving with the assembly of an interinstitutional commission.

Within this commission it is decided which governmental organization has the most pressing

responsibility. This governmental organization has to coordinate interaction and interventions

between all other organizations involved. It has not become clear whether this procedure is

formally established or whether it is an informal and practical agreement between the members of

the interinstitutional commission. This way of working has started about a year ago.

In urban areas the situation is even more complex. Integrating spatial planning and water

management is crucial to reduce the risk of flooding in urban areas. However, the coordination of



tasks and interaction between the various levels of authorities that are responsible for part of the

water management tasks has proven to be a real challenge.

Discussions between the involved actors is ongoing, but clear guidance is required to move from

potential solutions to implementation on a broader scale and incorporating all solutions in an

integrated catchment approach.



Contents

1 DRR-TEAM MISSION 8 1.1 Introduction 8

1.2 Scope of Work 8

1.3 Approach 10

1.4 Actors 11

2 ANALYSIS 12 2.1 Climate variability in Costa Rica 12

2.2 Summary of field visits and meetings 13

2.2.1 Day 1: Rio Chirripó / Rio Matína 14

2.2.2 Day 2: Rio Banano and Bananito 17

2.2.3 Day 3 Canal Tortuguero 19

2.2.4 Day 4 and 5 21

2.3 Financing of programs and projects 24

3 RECOMMENDATIONS 32 3.1 General recommendations 32

3.2 Technical recommendations 33

3.3 Recommendations related to finance 36

3.3.1 Areas for improvement: 36

3.3.2 Opportunities 36

Annex A – DRR-Tea m 38

Annex B – Terms of Reference 39

Annex C – Mission program 40

Annex D – CV Team members 42

Annex E– Presentation ‘Flood risk challenges on the Caribbean slopes’ 43

Annex F – Presentation JAPDEVA on Delta challenges near Parismina 44

Annex G - Research approach for financial sustainability 45

Annex H - Presentation flood risks and interventions in urban areas 48

Annex I - Presentation Debriefing 49



LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

amsl above mean sea level

ANAPROBAN Asociación Nacional de Productores Independientes de Bananos

APMT APM Terminals

APP Asociación Público-Privada

ASADAS Asociación administradora de sistemas de acueductos y alcantarillado

ASR Aquifer Storage Recovery

AYA Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillado

BCIE Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica

BID Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

BM Banco Mundial

CAFTA-DR The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement

CAT Commisión Assesora Técnica

CATIE Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza

CCAD Central American Commission for Environment and Development

CNE Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias

CORBANA Corporación Bananera Nacional

CRC Costa Rican Colones

DAC Development Assistance Committee

DRR Dutch Risk Reduction

DWA Dutch Water Authorities

EARTH Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda

EKN Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

ENCC Estrategia Nacional de Cambio Climático

EN-LEDS Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development Strategies

ENSO El Niño Southern Oscillation

FEWS Flood Early Warning System

FEPI Fondo Especial de Prevención e Infraestructura

GCF Green Climate Fund

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit

GNI Gross National Income

IADB / IDB /

BID

Inter-American Development Bank / Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

ICA Ingenieros Civiles Asociados

ICE Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad

IFI International Financial Institutions

IMN Instituto Meteorológico Nacional

INDER Instituto de Desarrollo Rural

INSValores Instituto Nacional de Suguros - Valores

ITCR-TEC Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica-Tecnológico de Costa Rica

JAPDEVA Junta de Administración Portuaria y de Desarrollo Económico de la Vertiente

Atlántica

KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau

MAG Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería

MINAE Ministerio de Amiente y Energía

MOPT Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes

MoU Memorandum of Understanding



NGO’s Non Governmental Organizations

ODA Official Development Assistance

PIAAG Programa Integral de Abastecimiento de Agua para Guanacaste

PNUD Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo

PPP Public Private Partnership

RVO Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland

SENARA Servicio Nacional de Aguas Subterráneas Riego y Avenamiento

TC Technical Cooperation

TCB Trade Capacity Building

TCM The Container Terminal of Moín

TFCA Tropical Forest Conservation Act

ToR Terms of References

UCR Universidad de Costa Rica

UNA Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica

USAID United States Agency for International Development

USAID - OFDA Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance

USD United States Dollars

USGS United States Geological Survey

WB / BM World Bank / Banco Mundial



1 DRR-TEAM MISSION

1.1 Introduction

By invitation of the Costa Rican authorities the government of the Netherlands has brought

together a DRR-Team1 of experts to carry out two scoping missions, the first focusing on drought

risks and the second on challenges related to flood risks. From November 22 to 28, 2015, the first

scoping mission was carried out with a team of two experts, mainly covering the expertise of

integrated water resources management and early warning systems for droughts. The mission was

intensively facilitated and supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN). The

support of the EKN as well as from the Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de

Emergencias (CNE) was crucial to be able to meet with so many actors.

At the very start of the first mission a document with the Terms of References for the mission was

signed by Dr. Ivan Brenes, president of the CNE and Ambassador Mette Gongrijp. This document

facilitates the cooperation between Costa Rica and the Dutch water Sector, strictly pertaining to the

DRR-Team involvement.

Figure 1-1 Signing ceremony of the MoU

From March 6-13 the second scoping mission took place. For the program and a list of people we

met please refer to Annex C. This mission focused on decreasing the flood risks and climate change

adaptation in the catchments that drain towards the Caribbean Sea (figure 1-2). The DRR-Team

consisted of following experts:

Klaas de Groot / Integrated Water Resources Management

Albert Wiggers / Civil Engineer and flood risk management

Monica Altamirano / Financial expert

The CV’s of the members of the mission team can be found in Annex D.

1.2 Scope of Work

The scoping mission consisted of two parts: a scoping mission on drought management in

Guanacaste on the Pacific coast in 2015 (part one) and a scoping mission on flood control in the

1 For objectives of the DRR Program and the ToR for the second mission please refer to Annex A and Annex B respectively



area surrounding Limon on the Atlantic Coast in 2016 (part two). The catchments visited cover in

total an area of around 75 x 100 km.

The scoping mission focused on accomplishing the following three (3) main objectives:

1. The mission will give recommendations on disaster risk reduction, damage mitigation,

resilient reconstruction, water management, flood control, drought management and use of water

for agriculture.

2. The mission will give recommendations (technical advice) on the ongoing drought crisis in

the central and pacific part of the country to contribute to the accessibility of drinking water.

3. The mission will give technical advice to contribute to the development of a long term

comprehensive strategy on water management & flood control on the Atlantic Coast of Costa Rica.

Based on the request by the Costa Rican authorities, supplemented with results of the first mission,

the objectives for the second mission were specified as follows:

1. To provide recommendations on disaster risk reduction, damage mitigation, resilient

reconstruction and flood control along the Costa Rican Atlantic Coast, including funding and

alternative ways of financing.

2. To provide technical advice, including climate adaptation, flood management and financial

solutions, for the development of a long term comprehensive and integrated strategy on water

management & flood

To cover general as well as technical and financial recommendations related to the

abovementioned aspects the documents presents the recommendations on short/mid/long term

interventions in three separate paragraphs in chapter 3. Paragraph 3.1 includes general

interventions to reduce flood risk and mitigate climate change effects. Paragraph 3.2 focusses on

technical interventions that are feasible to strengthen dikes, increase the stability of river beds and

how to maintain the system to maintain the required safety level. This is followed by a paragraph

Figure 1-2 Visited locations in the Caribbean coastal area of Costa Rica (Google Earth)



that concentrates on the financial requirements and the different possibilities to bring together the

funds needed to carry out projects / programs.

The activities carried out included desk review, meetings with RVO and the Embassy, field visits

with stakeholders, meetings with IFI’s, stocktaking of data available om climate change, assessing

flood risks in relation to land use and to identify financing and business models.

1.3 Approach

During the scoping mission the team of experts met with a series of actors to discuss the actual

challenges and to identify possible interventions. These actors were representatives of national as

well as local authorities, IFI’s, NGO’s, Universities, the private sector and from local communities.

The results of these meetings are included in this document.

During the five day mission a number of locations were visited (figure 1-3) where problems have

occurred with flooding and where damage has been caused by the extreme discharges over the last

years.

In addition to high flood risk locations the DRR-Team also visited the catchments of Banano en

Bananito where drinking water is collected. These catchments are under increasing pressure as a

result of the regional mining industry. Furthermore the canal system connecting the lagoons in the

North-East of Costa Rica were visited to inspect the impact of the erosion and sedimentation

processes and to discuss possible solutions for the continuous siltation of the canals , hampering

local transport of goods over water.

In general it can be indicated that governmental authorities feel that interventions are necessary

but it is not always clear who should be responsible for planning, implementation, operation and

maintenance. Implementation of measures is not always sufficiently facilitated by existing laws and

regulations. These regulations in Costa Rica do exist but sometime are too rigid where tailor-made

solutions are required and the instruments are insufficient to further compliance. Also the complex

processes to make money available was mentioned as an aspect that slows down development.

Figure 1-3 Photos of some of the locations visited



The fact that the process to agree to a new water law is taking so many years already is a strong

indicator of the complexity and the diverging objectives of involved authorities.

The mission was concluded with a working session with the CNE to discuss possible interventions,

how these could be financed and up to which level lessons learned in the Netherlands can guide

Costa Rica in a sustainable development of the water system and to reduce water related risks.

1.4 Actors

During the mission meetings with a large number of actors were convened to get a good overview

of the challenges and the objectives to be met. These actors include:

APMT – APM Terminals (http://www.apmterminals.com/)

AED - Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo (http://www.aedcr.com/)

AYA - Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillado (https://www.aya.go.cr)

BCIE - Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (http://www.bcie.org/?cat=1054)

BID - Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (http://www.iadb.org/es/paises/costa-rica)

BM - Banco Mundial (http://www.bancomundial.org/es/country/costarica)

Casa Presidencial (http://presidencia.go.cr/)

CNE - Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias

(http://www.cne.go.cr)

CORBANA – Corporación Bananera Nacional (https://www.corbana.co.cr)

DOLE (http://www.dole.com/)

Grupo ICE – Instituto Costarricense de Energia (https://www.grupoice.com/)

IMN - Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (https://www.imn.ac.cr)

INS – Instituto Nacional de Seguros (www.ins-cr.com/)

ITCR-TEC - Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica-Tecnológico de Costa Rica

(http://www.tec.ac.cr)

JAPDEVA - Junta de Administración Portuaria y de Desarrollo Económico de la Vertiente

Atlántica (http://www.japdeva.go.cr/)

MINAE – Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía (http://www.minae.go.cr/)

MOPT – Ministerio de Obras Público y Transporte (http://www.mopt.go.cr)

Municipalidades (San José, Alajuelita, Curridabat, Aserri, Turrialba, Escazú, San Ana,

Desamparados, Montes de Oca, La Unión, Mora)

SENARA - Servicio Nacional de Aguas Subterráneas Riego y Avenamiento (www.senara.or.cr)

UCR – Universidad de Costa Rica (http://eng.ucr.ac.cr/)

UNA – Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica (http://www.una.ac.cr/)

http://www.apmterminals.com/

http://www.aedcr.com/

https://www.aya.go.cr/

http://www.bcie.org/?cat=1054

http://www.iadb.org/es/paises/costa-rica

http://www.bancomundial.org/es/country/costarica

http://presidencia.go.cr/

http://www.cne.go.cr/

https://www.corbana.co.cr/

http://www.dole.com/

https://www.grupoice.com/

https://www.imn.ac.cr/

http://www.ins-cr.com/

http://www.tec.ac.cr/

http://www.minae.go.cr/

http://www.mopt.go.cr/

http://www.senara.or.cr/

http://eng.ucr.ac.cr/

http://www.una.ac.cr/



2 ANALYSIS

2.1 Climate variability in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is strongly affected by the actual El Niño phase of the ENSO phenomenon. The

increased temperatures in the Pacific along the Coast of Peru, together with the climatological

variety within the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone cause strong anomalies in precipitation in the

basins that drain towards the Pacific and increased precipitation with higher risks of flooding in the

basins that drain towards the Caribbean Sea (figure 2.1).

Figure 2-1 deficiency and excess of precipitation July – September 2015 (source: SIG – Dpto.

Climatología e investigaciones Aplicadas, Instituto Mteorológico Nacional.)

These anomalies in precipitation cause drought as well as flooding and have strong socio-economic

effects in the country. It is expected that these effects will increase further during at least the first

half year of 2016.

The UCR introduced the mission to climate variability in Costa Rica (Annex E). The Caribbean side

is influenced permanently by the trade winds and seasonally by tropical depressions and cold



thrusts. The trade winds are intensified between November and February and weaken during the

hurricane season between June and November.

During the period between November and February, the trade winds carry moisture from the Gulf

of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. When the trade winds reach the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, they

are forced to climb the mountain range, causing rains that can last several days.

The trade winds weaken during the hurricane season; however, this permanent system of constant

winds continue bringing moisture to the Caribbean slope.

For this reason, the Caribbean slope does not present a clearly defined dry period.

The Pacific slope is influenced, seasonally, by equatorial westerlies. During hurricane season, when

the trade winds weaken, the equatorial westerlies intensify, bringing moisture to the Pacific coast.

During the period between November and February, the trade winds prevail and the system of

equatorial westerly winds is pushed southwards.

Because of this condition, there is no precipitation on the Pacific side, while there is abundant

rainfall on the Caribbean side.

Because of this interaction of wind directions and the topography of the country, on the Caribbean

side, the average precipitation is more than 3,000 mm per year. In some areas it rains even more

than 5,000 mm per year. While on the Pacific side, in some areas the average annual rainfall can

reach 3,000 mm, but it can also be as low as 1.700 mm.

Negative impacts as a result of floods have increased over the past 15 years due to population

growth in flood prone areas, the development of new areas for agriculture and increased sediment

yield that occurs in the upper and middle basins parts.

On the Caribbean side, particularly, the problem is compounded by the earthquake of Limon, which

occurred on April 22, 1991. This earthquake caused an uprising of the coastal zone and landslides

in the basins of the Sixaola, Estrella, Banano, Bananito, Moín, Matina, Madre de Dios, Pacuare and

Reventazon rivers. This situation has caused the loss of plant cover and hence, increase of surface

water discharges. The lifting of the coastal zone decreased the discharge capacity. Furthermore,

the earthquake has caused the riverbeds and channel system to become more instable. This

situation still remains because, as a result of the high precipitation rates in the area, vegetation

has not yet fully recovered.

2.2 Summary of field visits and meetings

During the mission three distinct areas in the Atlantic coastal region of Costa Rica were visited

(figure 2.2):

• Day 1: Chirripó River / Matina River

• Day 2: Bananito River and Banano River

• Day 3: Canal Tortuguero, deltaic areas of the Moín, Matína, Madre Dios and Parismína Rivers

This region was severely affected during the last rainy season in 2015. Serious flooding led to the

signing of the emergency decree on June 30, 2015. Floods were supposedly more severe because

of the strengthened el Niño signal of the ENSO phenomenon.

A chronological (day by day) summary of observations is presented below. The observations

address:



• the dominant problems and their causes;

• observation of actual flood risks prevention measures (dikes, revetments, bank protection);

• observations on consequences of inundation;

• and how flood risks are anticipated by the communities or individuals living in flood prone

areas.

2.2.1 Day 1: Rio Chirripó / Rio Matína

On Monday 14 March two locations along the Chirripó River were visited: the location Matína and

the bridge of Highway 32 over the Chirripó River. Both locations are classified critical by CNE. The

sites were visited together with representatives of CNE, MOPT, SENARA, JAPDEVA and CORBANA.

Ahead of the site visits the situation at both locations was explained in a presentation by the

University of Costa Rica. The Chirripó River or Matína River is a morphological very dynamic river

and has changed its course over the last decades. In this area the river turns from a braiding river

into a highly meandering river.

The area around the village of Matína is prone to inundation. A few years ago the village and

nearby fruit plantations were flooded after a dike slumped towards the river due to the effects of

bank erosion near one of the pillars of a railway bridge.

The village of Matína is located on the banks of an outer curve of one of the meanders of the

Chirripó River. The river bears the name Río Matína further downstream. The village is situated in

the center of an area with fruit plantations, predominantly banana and plantain. A railway line,

once constructed for the transport of locally harvested fruit, passes the village and crosses the

river via a railway bridge.

Figure 2-2 Locations visited near Limón (Google Earth)



During the last flooding Matína was inundated by a water depth of approximately 50cm. This

caused problems of accessibility, damage to buildings and goods, dwellings and loss of production

of the surrounding plantations. Forms of anticipation of regular flooding were observed during the

field visit. Communal buildings such as a school, a fire fighting station and a transformer station

were built on elevated ground (adaptation measure). Also many examples of houses on piles or

elevated floors were observed. The use of elevated floor levels is not required by authorities but is

an example of individual initiatives to anticipate flood risks (CNE). After the inundation of Matína

the dike was rebuilt at the same location as part of the Emergency flood prevention works (CNE,

SENARA). The distance between the river and the dike is not more than a few meters at some of

the visited locations (figure 2-3).

At the same location a road runs directly at the land side of the dike. The slopes of the visited dikes

are relatively steep. At the land side slope a small one block high gabion structure supports the

steep slope. No observations of seepage have been reported or observed at this location by

SENARA or MOPT (Departamento de Obras Fluviales).

The new dikes have been constructed by using fill material that comprises a mixture of sand,

gravel and cobbles (stones that can be carried by hand). The fill material was placed and

compacted in layers of 50cm (SENARA). An impermeable core was not required as seepage related

phenomena have not occurred at this location in the past. The river side slopes and the crest of the

dike were heavily overgrown at the moment of the visit what complicates inspection of the state

and geometry of the river banks and the dike itself (Figure 2-3). At the visited locations the fill

material used for construction could be observed at the surface. No bed protection or falling apron

could be observed.

The railway bridge, a one hundred years old truss bridge, was apparently designed for the dynamic

behavior of the river. The pillars of the bridge are robust and still in good condition. The bridge

extends at both sides of the river far beyond the river banks (figure 2-4).

Figure 2-3 steep slopes and limited distance between river and dike



Bridge Highway 32 over Chirripó River

The highway 32 crosses the Chirripó River at approximately 4 km further upstream. Highway 32 is

the main connection between San José and the port of Limón. Two high pressure petroleum

pipelines run parallel to the highway and are connected to the bridge. This location is heading the

list of most critical bridges in Costa Rica (MOPT) because one of the approach embankments of the

bridge is located on the bank of the outer curve of the meander and the bank of the river has

limited protection against erosion.

The slope of the embankment has a relatively light riprap protection. The stones itself will not be

stable under conditions of high currents. Below the bridge a steel wire mesh was visible at the

slope to retain the riprap and to prevent it from eroding. At both sides of the bridge the slopes are

covered by grass. It was unclear if and how the slope protection was extended further upstream

and downstream of the bridge approach embankment. The bed protection at this location was

hardly extended towards the river bed (figure 2-6). Erosion at the toe of the slope at the river bed

could undermine the bridge approach embankment and/or the revetments or dikes directly up- and

Figure 2-5 Bridge of Highway 32 over Chirripó River. Slope of bridge embankment between first pillar and abutment.

Figure 2-4 Railway bridge extended far beyond the river at both river banks



downstream of the bridge. It is noticed that the bridge was heavily damaged and for a short time

not accessible, after the 1991 Limon Earthquake. The transition slab between the bridge pillar and

the abutment collapsed. Erosion of the embankment during a future flood event could result in a

similar situation.

An extended river bed protection (figure 2-6) could act as a falling apron and follows the

movements of the river bed but keeps the toe of the slope stable and protected. In this case the

bed protection was too short to be able to move and protect the toe zone of the slope.

2.2.2 Day 2: Rio Banano and Bananito

Several locations in the Catchment areas of the Banano and Bananito Rivers were visited together

with representatives of CNE, MOPT, SENARA, JAPDEVA and AyA.

The catchment areas of the Banano River and the Bananito River are relatively small and sparsely

populated. Together with the high average precipitation and dense vegetation these catchment

areas are very suitable for abstraction of drinking water.

The catchments are very important for the recovery of the aquifer of Moín, but also are extremely

vulnerable. Surface water has been captured to produce drinking water over the last few decennia.

In 1991 the earthquake affected the area. Rivers were like mud streams and the earthquake

caused extensive damage throughout the geological structure of this region. Extensive forested

areas were affected causing increased erosion on the steep slopes. Intensive rainfall causes erosion

and even landslides with a high water turbidity as a result. The water turbidity at the intake of

Banano exceeded the design capacity of the treatment plants.

Another important source of drinking water is the aquifer of Moín. A lot of water is produced from

this aquifer. About 15% of the supply for the population of Limon is produced here. However, both

the dynamics around the port and the population growth has increased the pressure on this

aquifer. The availability of water is decreasing while the demand increases. It is expected that the

production of the aquifer will further decrease and will only be used as additional buffer and

possibly for industrial use.

During the earthquake the coastal area rose an average of 1.20 m as a result of the uplifting of the

tectonic plate. It destroyed everything including all the piped system to supply drinking water and

most of the roads. At that moment the availability of water in the Moín aquifer saved Limón from

being secluded from drinking water. To reduce the risk of repetition, AyA started with the

construction of an additional treatment plant in the catchment of Bananito.

There is a regional management strategy. This strategy should guarantee sufficient water supply

on the long term. This strategy includes different protection levels. In highest areas Banano and

Figure 2-6 Very short bed protection below the eroded top layer visible



Bananito are located in the Natural Park Amistad that is shared with Panama. This park is

important because of its rich biodiversity. From the limits of the park down to the 400 m above

mean sea level (amsl) the level of protection is such that the water resources are not affected in a

negative manner. This protected area covers about 60 km2 of the catchment area (80 km2). Then

in the lower parts of the catchment the land use is restricted to protect the aquifer (groundwater

protection zone). Even though the area is protected, concessions are granted to exploit sand,

gravel and stones in the river bed. This causes destabilization of the channel as well as a decrease

of infiltration of water in the aquifer. Pressures on land use endanger the water supply, especially if

demand will increase with population growth, economic development and increase of the tourism

sector.

AyA advocates avoiding or minimizing interference in the catchment and the river bed morphology

by mining or other activities that affect the water system. The hydrological and geohydrological

situation and possible impacts of sediments excavations in the riverbed were presented by

representatives of the AyA. Plans exist to establish a new quarry for igneous armor stone far

upstream of in the Banano catchment area. This activity, if permitted, is expected to have serious

effects on water quality and availability.

Location Bananito River: Drinking water intake station

At this location no inundations have occurred but this site was of interest because of the local

approach of slope and bank protection. Because of river bank erosion the existing rail road had to

be relocated and the site that houses the pumping station for drinking water has to be protected

against inundation.

Figure 2-7 shows the slope protection that has been used here: Armor Flex. Prefab concrete blocks

that are connected by steel hooks. The toe of the slope was connected to a 2m deep cast in place

concrete wall (MOPT). Bank protection consists of three small groins (approximately 5m in length).

According to MOPT the groins have been effective since the construction.

Borrowing of fill material from the river bed Banano River

The visit was interesting as it illustrates very well possible effects of borrowing fill from the river

bed. AyA is concerned that excavation of fill materials in the river bed will affect the quality and

quantity of the water that infiltrates in an aquifer that is exposed in this area. The exposed aquifer

is fed by surface water from the river and is an important sources for drink water abstraction.

Figure 2-7 Crest and slope protection near drink water intake in the river Bananito



Different studies have been performed to assess the effects of borrowing fill material from the river

bed in relation to the stability of the channel and the recovery of the aquifer. Results of the

different geohydrological studies are not in agreement or even contradict regarding the effect of

borrowing fill on the capacity of the aquifer.

New location for additional drinking water production

The construction of a new production unit is foreseen upstream of the actual installation. This will

allow for another 1000 l/s and transport will be almost fully under gravity. During planning of the

project (financed by KfW) the population growth in the area and the increasing port activities were

taken in to account. The project can be financed largely by the energy saving. Almost 30% of the

actual budget is spent on energy to pump water. The new project will reduce the energy use by

80%.

Integrated catchment management

The management of Banano and Bananito catchments is a special case from an integrated

catchment management perspective. In Costa Rica the objective is to manage catchments in an

integrated manner, but the decision on who should be responsible for this is difficult. Therefore

authorities only implement initiatives for which they have direct responsibility. AyA will manage the

catchment of Banano for drinking water supply while ICE manages the catchment of the

Reventazon River with the sole purpose to produce electricity.

For the Banano catchment a coordination commission has been constituted. Different institutions

are member of this interinstitutional commission. According to the law this commission has to be

chaired by MINAE. For various reasons, MINAE does not see this as a priority and does not

coordinate tasks. This is why AYA has taken up the effort to assure that land use complie s with the

norms and penalizes when necessary. The challenge is that AyA does not has the means to ensure

full compliance, while illegal activities in the catchment increase. Banks are not willing anymore to

provide insurances as the risks are increasing.

2.2.3 Day 3 Canal Tortuguero

A boat trip was made between the mouth of the Moín River and the Parismína River together with

representatives of CNE, ICE, MOPT, SENARA, JAPDEVA, CORBANA to discuss the challenges related

to the sedimentation in the delta of the Matina/Chirripó, Madre Dios and Parismína Rivers.

Figure 2-8 Borrowing of fill material at the location of an exposed aquifer (Banano River)



The Caribbean coast in North East Costa Rica is characterized by a canal (Canal Tortuguero) that

runs all the way parallel to the coast and is separated from the sea by a narrow strip of beach

deposits. This canal is manmade to connect the lagoons. It has open connections to the Caribbean

Sea at several locations, normally the locations were one of the bigger rivers exits in the sea.

After the 1991 Limón Earthquake the sedimentation in the deltas of the rivers and in the Canal

Tortuguero suddenly increased. Part of the seabed at the Caribbean coast north of Limón has been

raised, up to 1 meter2, due to tectonic movements. This (uneven) raising has affected the capacity

of the rivers to drain towards the Caribbean Sea. The increased sedimentation has had several

negative impacts, such as:

• decreased discharge capacity,

• increased inundations along the rivers and the canal,

• decreased navigability of the canal.

JAPDEVA is looking for alternatives for simply dredging the water ways. Now they have to dredge

the canal each 2 month with total costs of € 20.000. Several plans and actions that have already

been taken were discussed during the boat tour over the Canal Tortuguero. Erosion is also a

problem. The office and research installation of MINAE near Jaloba is threatened by erosion of the

river bank. A few years ago it was constructed at 70 meters from the canal. Now the canal has

reached the installation as close as 30 meters. The alternative should also provide opportunities for

the restoration of the ecosystem end biodiversity.

One of the existing ideas is to increase the discharge on the Matina/Chirripó River by closing

streams further upstream. These connections upstream are manmade to increase the drainage

capacity of the area north-west of the Matina/Chirripó River. This could be the cause of the

increased sediment transport to the canal. At the moment a solid basis in terms of topographic

information, discharge and sediment measurements and morphologic and hydraulic modelling is

missing.

Meeting with APMT - Silvia Gamboa

In February of 2011, APM Terminals won an international public bid and later that year signed a

33-year concession contract with the Government of Costa Rica to design, finance, construct,

operate and maintain a specialized container terminal off the Caribbean coast of Mo ín, Limon.

The Container Terminal of Moín (Spanish acronym of TCM) is strategically located in the Limon /

Moín port complex which currently services 80% of the country´s international commerce. This

2 During presentations different data were presented

Figure 2-9 Examples of unsuccessful attempts to decrease the rate of sedimentation in Canal Tortuguero



deep water terminal, only 160 nautical miles North of the Panama Canal, is poised to service the

new Panamax vessels beginning in early 2018.

The construction of the terminal is expected to affect the sedimentation processes in the regional

water system. This has been studied by hydrologists contracted by APMT and at the moment,

without long term monitoring it cannot be said whether changing circumstances should lead to

interventions. At least 6 years of monitoring is needed to establish a baseline. During this period

the harbor will maintain its depth by dredging.

When high rainfall intensities are combined with high sea levels during storms (normal difference

between high and low tide is only 30 cm) the water in the rivers cannot flow towards the ocean.

Water is being retained in the wetlands of the coastal areas leading to increased sedimentation .

Also in urban areas water cannot be discharged which causes waterlogging. This problem is similar

to what happens along the whole Atlantic coast line. The return periods are hard to estimate as

there are hardly data on which to base statistical analysis. However, during 2015 there were two

events within six months that presumably had return periods of 10 years. This was the result of the

El Niño phase.

This caused significant coastal erosion. For example in Cahuita (south-east of Limon), the erosion

did not only damage the beach but also damaged the vegetation as a result of inundation from the

sea. Damage in Moín has been repaired but Cahuita has not recuperated.

APMT has a program to protect turtles. The monitoring that is carried out is done in cooperation

with other projects along the coast, also in neighboring countries.

Other risks for APMT are earthquakes. The one that took place in 1991 has an expected return

period of 2000 years. This is according to research that has been carried out by the University of

California. APMT is willing to share all data that has been used for this geological study. This also is

valid for all other data on sediment transport and meteorological data.

APMT will pay 7.5% of the total revenue from quayside operation as royalties to JAPDEVA. This

equals USD 12 million per year up to 18 million per year in seven years’ time, from the moment

that operation starts. JAPDEVA receives these funds and these are earmarked as Development

Funds for the province of Limón. Normal taxes are 30 % and 0.5% of the total revenue from

quayside will be paid to the municipality. The concession is for 33 years of which the first three are

covered by the construction.

2.2.4 Day 4 and 5

On Thursday and Friday several meetings were organized in San José to discuss flood risk issues in

Costa Rica.

On Thursday, an interactive session was convened with a number of Municipalities. This was

followed by a meeting at the premises of CORBANA. In the afternoon the mission team met with

PIAAG (integrated plan for water supply for Guanacaste) and CAT (technical advisory commission)

to present the results of the fieldtrips and to continue the discussion on the results of the mission

in November. In the report of the first mission, the PIAAG is described in more detail with several

recommendations on how to improve the long term planning, to increase the availability of water

and to make more efficient use of the water that is being made available by the interventions that

have been implemented.



On Friday, the morning was dedicated to debriefing of the CNE. This provided us with the

opportunity to present results of the fieldtrips, the experiences in the Netherlands and to advise on

the interventions to be implemented to reduce the risks of these water rela ted disasters.

Parallel to the plenary meetings on Thursday and Friday our financial expert met with a series of

institutions related to the financing of interventions. Results will be presented below.

Room for Water in Urban Areas

During the morning sessions a presentation was given by the DRR-Team on challenges and

possible interventions in urban areas. Hands-on experiences with basic concepts

(detain/retain/drain, multiple security layers, integrated and adaptive water management, water

governance) were shared and discussed. Municipalities lack the knowledge and the instruments to

manage the water systems in a proper manner. They are also depending on the authorities that

are responsible for the management of the

catchment and water bodies upstream.

Coordination is not optimal. There is a lot of

interest to learn more from experiences

around the world. Most important is

transition in the water culture. The paradigm

changes in the Netherlands over the last 50

years are examples of what is needed in

urban areas to change from a reactive

disaster approach to an approach of risk

reduction and disaster preparedness. In

Annex H the presentation is included for

reference.

Also the possibility was discussed to involve

the municipalities in the initiatives that are

being developed by the EKN to strengthen

water governance. These initiatives include matchmaking between institutions and authorities in

Costa Rica and the Netherlands (e.g. UNESCO-IHE, DWA and consultants). Interest exists in finding

opportunities for more intensive exchange of information, possibly as an integral part of ongoing or

to be initiated projects.

Paola Benavides APP Unit, Ministry of Finance

Alexander Burns

and Parmenio Rojas

CNE

Michael Calderon Administración de Desarrollo, JAPDEVA

Wilbert Zuñiga Obras Fluviales, MOPT

Marcos Camacho BID

Alexander Garita Ejecutivo de Proyectos, BCIE (Oficina Regional de Costa Rica)

Luis Varela Analista de Créditos , BCIE(Oficina Regional de Costa Rica)

Hori Tsuneki (Ph.D)

Disaster Risk Management Specialist (INE/RND), BID (Interview via

Skype).

Andrea González Directora de Alianzas Público Privadas, Despacho de la Vicepresidenta

Olga Sauma Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo

Federico Villalobos Gerente Banca de Inversión, INSValores

Viki Limaye First Secretary, Environmental Hub for Central America and the Caribbean

Figure 2-10 Room for Water in Urban Areas Workshop



Meeting with CORBANA

Corporación Bananera Nacional (CORBANA) is a non-governmental public institution, established in

the year 1971 by the ratification of a law of the Republic of Costa Rica. Its major objective is the

development of the banana industry in Costa Rica and to serve the banana producers.

This institution develops research programs aimed at strengthening the quality of banana farming,

provides state-of-the-art technology to producers, it maintains lines of credit to facilitate the

operation and recovery of the plantations struck by natural disasters in the Costa Rican Caribbean,

among other commitments to improve the industry.

The Board of Directors is making great effort to create a fund to prevent flooding and reduce risks.

This has already led to the creation of the FEPI (Fondo Especial de Prevención e Infraestructura) a

special fund for prevention and infrastructure, financed for and by the producers. However,

CORBANA does not have the technical capacity to administer this fund and that is why the FEPI

Commission was assembled to ally with the sectors that do have the required capacity: CNE,

MOPT, ANAproban, y la Camara Nacional de Bananeros y JAPDEVA. This commission proposes

projects. Most of them have been research projects as there is dire need for technical information

to make sound decisions and plan infrastructural works.

One of the approved projects is the dredging of the Matina River and the canals located in the

north of the Atlantic coast. With the help of CNE a series of catchments were prioritized. One of

these is the study on the catchment of the Matina River. Other prioritized catchments are

distributed among the institutions involved to be coordinated.

Because of the Emergency Decree studies can be initiated more rapidly. Now it is necessary to

define which construction works are most needed and then start with the design.

For the Matina catchment a study exists that covers the whole catchment. This should be the basis

to identify other needs. The outcome should be a master plan for the whole catchment that

provides insight in where interventions can be planned best. This does not mean that no -regret

measures like dredging cannot be started immediately.

Meeting with PIAAG and CAT

On Thursday afternoon a meeting was convened with institutions involved in PIAAG and members

of the CAT. During this meeting the results of the mission in 2015 (November 22-28) were

discussed. This led to a prioritization of some of the interventions proposed in the report of that

mission. High on the priority list is the development of a master plan for the North Pacific region

that links the socio-economic and ecological development of that region to the availability of water.

This should provide the information for water managers on how to facilitate this development best

and the interventions that are required.

Another priority is the development of a monitoring network to assure that parallel to the

development of a master plan crucial information is gathered to improve the decisions that are

being made during the process to arrive at the master plan.

Furthermore, the use of water in the agricultural sector should become more efficient. Agriculture

has the highest water demand and also the lowest efficiency in use. Increasing the efficiency could

decrease the demand or increase the area under irrigation.

In relation to the results on the Atlantic catchments it is agreed that more integrated approaches

are required. Even though there are studies available on a catchment scale, they do not provide

the required analysis to spend the available funds in an efficient and effective manner. Also the

integration of land use, spatial planning and water management has to be improved. Now,

agriculture takes place in areas that are not suitable for agriculture, for example areas that are

very much prone to flooding. However, after a few years local populations expect that the

government takes the necessary actions to reduce the risk of flooding as these areas are used for



agriculture. Planning on the long term is needed and it is also necessary that with all new spatial

developments being planned the effect on and of the water system has to be taken in to

consideration.

On a more technical level it was agreed

that the river system in the lower lying

areas could profit from the use of smaller

summer dikes and higher winter dikes

and where the area between the summer

and the winter dikes can have a limited

agricultural use (figure 2-11)

Meeting with CNE

On Friday morning the debriefing session

with CNE took place. In Annex I the

debriefing presentation is included.

During the session the possibilities of

identifying funds for the interventions was

discussed.

Meeting with DOLE

During a short telephone conference with DOLE the comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction

initiative in the Valle Estrella was discussed. This development was started in 1996 and has

successfully reduced the risk of flooding up to a return period of once every ten years. The costs of

the interventions did not meet the costs of a flooding event with a return period of one year.

Hence, benefits have proven to be much higher than the costs of the measures. This program has

also been successful in relation to social responsibility and in planning the interventions a thorough

analysis was made of the catchment and the possibilities to use the strength of natural processes

(Building with Nature). Also the concept of two dikes was adopted to decrease costs and increa se

benefits by allowing the room between the two dikes for a limited type of agricultural cultivation.

DOLE was very much willing to share experiences with responsible authorities in Costa Rica to

enable other regions to make use of the proven techniques.

Meeting with Technical staff of CNE

In the afternoon a technical meeting was convened with hydrologists and civil engineers of CNE.

This was used to present our experiences with Room for the River and to mutually assess the

technical results of the mission and the applicability of techniques used in other parts of the world.

The presentations given during that meeting are attached as Annex J. Results of this meeting are

integrated in the following chapter.

2.3 Financing of programs and projects

In order to identify the possibilities for financing and implementation of the measures proposed it is

key to understand the financing options and instruments, as well as and rules of the game in the

public and the private financing spheres. Additionally, given the climate adaptation nature of the

measures it is important to understand the local relevance of climate finance dedicated funds. The

table in Annex G shows the key elements that were researched –mainly via interviews- within 3

main pillars:

1. Public Finance

2. Private Finance

3. Climate Finance

Figure 2-11 winter and summer dikes (source: power point presentation Mr. Hendrik Havinga (http://www.slideshare.net/Restoreeuroperivers/120511-iasi)



In the table of Annex G the elements of importance within each pillar are introduced, as well as

their relationship with the potential financing of disaster risk reduction measures. Also the key

institutions are given that were and/or should be interviewed to achieve a complete overview.

Below a series of financing alternatives for disaster risk reduction measures are presented.

Financing of (infrastructure) Works – capital expenses

Costa Rica has funds for direct public investments:

Government own resources – National Budget

Loans acquired by government with Multilaterals and other IFI’s (see options below). The

Net Debt has raised significantly from around 25 % in 2009 of the GDP up to 45% at this

moment. Because of this debt the government is less and less prone and/or allowed to

choose for debt as financing option. Therefore new ways such as PPP’s are being explored

and promoted.

Donors: development cooperation funds have reduced as Costa Rica is now considered an

Upper Middle-Income country, with a per capita GNI between USD 3 976 – 12 275. Costa

Rica has a Net ODA received per capita3 of USD 8 versus for example Honduras with USD

80.

Important funds for decentralized governments are:

PROMUNI, the municipal infrastructure financing program of BCIE called in Spanish

“Programa de Financiamiento de Infraestructural Municipal” or finance program for

municipal infrastructure. This program funds projects that benefit communities where at

least fifty percent of families have incomes below the median income set for the

municipality. Credit operations of PROMUNI seek to strengthen the financial capacity and

autonomy of municipalities to provide solutions to local needs (municipal infrastructure)

through the financing of potable water, electrification, improvement of roads, improvement

of collection systems and management of solid waste, construction of markets and land

transportation terminals, through mechanisms that optimize the use of resources and

involve users as a complementary source of payment. This is a line of credit offered by

BCIE through the national banks. There is not an established amount or limit for these

credits, they could be of USD 20 million or more; but so far most of the budget request

have been small projects of around USD 5 million. Since 1996 until 31 December of 2010

the BCIE had disbursed close to USD 163 million within this program for the whole Central

American region. The credit conditions are to be set depending on the project

characteristics, with terms of up to 10 years and periods of grace. More information is

available at: http://www.bcie.org/?cat=1147

CNE emergency fund for reconstruction works, but this is activated only after an

emergency has been declared. Once it has been declared, local governments need to

submit a list of the damages they experienced and a global plan of works to be realized.

For each emergency program there is a window of 5 years to realize these works.

Loans to finance public works are often asked by the Ministry of Finance to:

3 Net official development assistance (ODA) per capita consists of disbursements of loans made on concessional terms (net of repayments of principal) and grants by official agencies of the members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), by multilateral institutions, and by non-DAC countries to promote

economic development and welfare in countries and territories in the DAC list of ODA recipients; and is calculated by dividing net ODA received by the midyear population estimate. It includes loans with a grant element of at least 25 percent (calculated at a rate of discount of 10 percent).

http://www.bcie.org/?cat=1147



World Bank and IADB

Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE) – who is considered to have a

much faster and less bureaucratic process than the larger multilateral banks and which

adapts itself more to the priorities posed by the country.

Financing of Operative Expenses – operation and maintenance works

It has not been possible to identify during the mission who is the key financer of such expenses, in

case they cannot be covered by direct government budget. Nevertheless in the area visited and for

the “canales del Norte” case the dredging equipment has been acquired directly by JAPDEVA,

through their local development budget – and thus public money generated through taxes- and a

second unit one will be bought by the FEPI – (private fund set-up by the banana growers), which

will also cover gasoline, salaries and other operative expenses to keep these channels navigable.

This is an example of a mix of private / public funding.

According to our desk research, equipment for the maintenance of roads and other infrastructure,

are also sometimes provided by the MOPT to the local governments. Alternatively it seems that

Banco de Costa Rica also offers local government loans to buy equipment to maintain

infrastructure.

In general it can be observed that limited attention is given to the O&M phase of projects.

Financing of Studies

Financing of pre-investment studies: IADB and BCIE can offer a grant to the Ministry of Finance to

cover these types of studies, given that the loan for the public works to be realized after is to be

acquired with them.

Financing of River Basin Management studies and other analyses made at a larger scale than for a

specific project could be financed either by:

FEPI – for the areas the banana corporation (CORBANA) considers of priority

Technical Assistance grants required by the national government – but linked to Investment

plans and projects

A new World Bank loan for Limon is now under negotiation. In the past the so-called “Limón

Ciudad-Puerto” project received financing from the WB. This has not been a successful program

as only 12% of the funds were executed during the duration of five year. The historically low

execution of funds is attributed mainly to the limited preparation and project development

effort invested in the project before the loan was asked and negotiated with the World Bank.

Therefore unnecessary expenses were made in paying transaction advisors and other personnel

in the meantime that necessary conditions of the project were trying to be created. This is in

general a weakness of the Costa Rican public investment system. Government instances do not

seem to be experienced and or well equipped to prepare and plan the pro ject realistically and

tend therefore to engage with MDB’s and other financiers too early. The new government is

negotiating a new project to carry out the two most important elements of the old plan; the

flood risk reduction plan and a new sewage system. The estimated costs are around USD 70

million. In this project and incorporating the lessons learned, the World Bank has required first

a certain level of design and preparation of the project, before approving the loan.

The Interamerican Development Bank is working with the Costa Rican government on

increasing procurement efficiency and project preparation skills, so as to speed up the project

development and implementation cycle.

Funds available through CNE

The fund CNE has available to finance reconstruction works, called “Fondo Nacional de

Emergencias” is fed yearly by a percentage of the budget not executed by the government

authorities and ministries. As an example the MAG transferred CRC 350 million to the CNE in 2014



when the drought emergency was recognized. Even though these funds are normally aimed at

reconstruction, once the emergency has been declared they can be used to finance studies that

aim at the development of a thoroughly thought through response and reconstruction plan.

The floods experienced on the Atlantic slopes caused damages of around CRC 91 billion (see details

in table below), equivalent to USD 170 million. The Costa Rican government, through the CNE

and/or through the different government instances, will invest a total of CRC 75.6 billion,

equivalent to USD 141 million in reconstruction. This means that approximately 30 million in

damaged infrastructure will simply not be reconstructed, due to the shortage in funds. According to

BCIE, some of these funds have been made available by them to CNE.

Table : Overview of damage caused by Floods Emergency (Source: CNE/ DECRETO DE

EMERGENCIA Nº 39056 Resumen de Montos de Pérdidas o Costos de Reposición Según

Infraestructura Dañada)



Table: Overview of funds assigned to the Emergency (Source: CNE. DECRETO DE EMERGENCIA

Nº 39056 -Recursos Asignados a la Atención de la Emergencia)

Private financing

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and project finance for infrastructure projects are not yet a

common project delivery form in Costa Rica, but that is rapidly changing. The most important types

of APP (Alianzas Publico-Privada) used so far are:

1) Concessions: initiated by the public sector and based on the law set in 1998, a number of

concessions have been granted by the government. These are: 1) Ruta 27, 2) Juan Santa

Maria airport, 3) Port Caldera 2, and 4) APM Terminals – now under construction. The transport

sector has been and will continue to be the dominant sector for PPPs in Costa Rica. Law

7762/8643 limits PPPs in the electricity sector (as well as in telecom and health services, which

are outside the scope of this study), prohibiting concessions, but allowing Build-Operate-

Transfer (BOT) projects. Public opposition to privatization in the water sector has made it

difficult for the government to grant concessions in this sector. Successful PPPs have been

developed in toll roads and airports, but even these projects have faced opposit ion and

required changes along the way. Nevertheless the ongoing APM terminals projects is expected

to change the population perception about the instrument, and therefore give new life and

increase the applicability of the instrument.



2) Concessions initiated by the private sector (Unsolicited proposals): There are two of

these initiatives being developed, the most important one is the “Transfer Megapuerto Atlantic

(MTA-AMEGA)” in Limon .This project, presented by Americas Gateway Ltda (AMEGA),

proposes construction and operation of a container transshipment terminal on the Atlantic

coast of Costa Rica. Nevertheless the lack of clear rules and times for the different process

steps to advance towards the granting of these concessions creates serious challenges for the

financing of these initiatives. Two of the financial institutions interviewed expressed the

limitations they have in offering financing to the project developers of these initiatives given

the limited guarantees that have to be paid back.

3) Public Private Partnerships – Alianzas Publico Privadas. A new and comprehensive PPP bill

has been drafted and is now in the process for approval, its implementation is expected to

promote a wider variety of PPP models, besides concessions. In the meantime used is made of

the General Contracting Law (Ley de Contratación Administrativa) and thereunder the article

55 for “open contracts”. The bill prepared is meant to regulate this article and will require

therefore only the approval of National Audit Office (Contraloria) and the Executive power. In

this bill also DBFM and other models with public co-financing, besides concessions are being

regulated. Also with the goal of promoting PPP’s a new PPP office is being created within the

Ministry of Finance and all government entities will be more and more required to run a Public-

Private Comparator test as well as the potential for the application of PPP and private finance,

before considering or arranging an additional loan with a multilateral.

Additionally there are other instruments that channel private sector investment for the delivery of

public services:

Fideicomiso de desarrollo de Obra Publica Trust or escrow accounts. This a modality used

so far by ICE to build their hydropower plants without acquiring additional debts but for which the

government is preparing a bill to facilitate its use for the financing of transport infrastructure4 .

This trust is a contract between the Public Administration and a trustee for the transfer to the trust

for the transfer of funds that allow the execution of a construction and development of public

works, which will then be leased with or without option to purchase by the Public Administration

project.

The trust hires an investment bank that makes the engineering needed for the financial structuring

of the project. This financing structure may involve securitization, but also other schemes such as

syndicated loans, development loans, leasing, BOT, BLT, public works concession, etc. What is

important to note is that regulation provides that prior to the authorization for public tendering, the

trust must be the owner of the assets transferred in the trust (fideicomiso) contract for the

development of the project. In such an arrangement an account is established by a broker (a bank)

for holding funds on behalf of the broker’s principal (a government commissioning a construction

work) until the consummation or termination of a transaction. Therefore when using such

arrangement versus a common project finance arrangement used in PPP’s the bank creating the

account holds much more responsibility for the project implementation.

According to more than 2 interviewees although the figure has been used by the ICE with success,

the figure does not necessarily makes sense if used for other purposes and by other public

procurement entities as it requires a different set of capabilities from a bank than it now has. In

these cases the bank is the entity responsible for the development of the project and not the

consortium of (construction and engineering companies) that will implement the project.

4 More information on the bil l: http://www.centralamericadata.com/es/article/home/Costa_Rica_Fideicomisos_para_infraestructura_de_tran

sporte. More information on the Fideicomiso used by ICE: https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys -assigns-a-PBaa3-to-Reventazon-Finance-Trusts-senior-secured--PR_286455

http://www.centralamericadata.com/es/article/home/Costa_Rica_Fideicomisos_para_infraestructura_de_transporte

http://www.centralamericadata.com/es/article/home/Costa_Rica_Fideicomisos_para_infraestructura_de_transporte

https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-a-PBaa3-to-Reventazon-Finance-Trusts-senior-secured--PR_286455

https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-a-PBaa3-to-Reventazon-Finance-Trusts-senior-secured--PR_286455



Related to the specific field of Disaster Risk Management and prevention measures, Costa Rica

seems a pioneer in the involvement of the private companies operating agricultural value chains in

co-financing prevention works. Two initiatives we discovered that set an international example are:

1. Firstly, Dole has implemented in 1996 a comprehensive plan of measures to reduce flood

risk in the “Valle de la Estrella” a banana production area since the 1800’s. This plan

includes dredging, relocation of houses, a pumping system, the relocation of banana

plantations to allow for greater inundation areas and even the reforestation of certain

areas. Together with the Costa Rica University they have done modeling work and

continue to do research to decide which measures would be more effective. Starting point

for the identification of interventions were the building with nature principle and giving

more room to the river.

2. Secondly, the recently created prevention fund by CORBANA – FEPI - which sets a firm first

step towards the collective action of banana growers and an approach in the design and

implementation of flood protection measures that is more systemic and effective in the long

term.

Climate and Green Finance

Important players in the area of green and climate finance are USAID and GIZ. An interview with

the US Department of State Regional Environmental Hub representative pointed towards a number

of initiatives that finance environmental programs in Costa Rica; these are:

1) USAID Regional Climate Change Program, where work is done with all the meteoro logical

institutes of the region, including Costa Rica. The Costa Rican institute CATIE has been

chosen as the implementing party.

2) Regional Fair Trade Agreement – CAFTA-DR’s environmental chapter and its

“Environmental Cooperation Agreement.” There is a significant Environment Cooperation

Program. As a result, the State Department (including the Regional Environmental Hub),

USAID, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and other US agencies are working

together with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD)

to provide trade capacity building (TCB) to help Costa Rica and other CAFTA-DR partners

better protect the environment. This program provided for $20 million of regional

assistance in 2005, followed by $40 million per year for labor and environmental TCB from

2006 through 2009.

3) Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) – In September 2007, the United States and Costa

Rica agreed to a “debt-for-nature” swap in the largest such deal executed under the

Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA). The United States contributed more than USD

12.6 million to this agreement, while two NGOs, Conservation International and The Nature

Conservancy, gave a combined donation of more than USD 2.5 million, enabling Costa Rica

to reduce its debt payments to the United States and instead channel some USD 26 million

into the conservation of six Costa Rican forest ecosystems over the next 16 years. For

example, these funds will help conserve the forest ecosystems of the Osa Peninsula, one of

the world’s most species-rich areas and home to Costa Rica’s largest population of the

endangered scarlet macaw. The TFCA also will support conservation of the La Amistad

Biological Reserve, conserve forests in and around Tortuguero, and the Maquenque Wildlife

Refuge.

4) EC-LEDS – enhancing capacity for low emission development strategies. With an ambitious

goal of becoming a carbon neutral country by the year 2021, Costa Rica is a global leader

in transformative low-carbon growth. The Estrategia Nacional de Cambio Climático

(ENCC)—National Climate Change Strategy—published in 2008 is a roadmap for achieving

this goal. Through the EC-LEDS program, Costa Rica and the United States are working

together to improve data, support policies, and facilitate decision-making and actions that



have the greatest impact in making a substantial difference in the country's already

successful low-emission path.

Last but not least it is important to mention the work of the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster

Assistance (USAID/ OFDA) which has an office located in San Jose. Their primary focus relates

to volcanic disasters and earthquakes, but triggered by the recent drought in Costa Rica they

asked the US Geological Service to visit the country. As a result of their visit they have

prepared a proposal for MINAE where is recommended to make a complete assessment of the

hydrological resources, large survey of hydro maps and training of local authorities and

decision makers on how to understand this data. This work is expected to be carried out by

USGS.

The interview with the multilaterals and the desk research resulted in the following interesting

facts:

- BCIE through their regional office in Honduras is working in the process to become

accredited for the Green Climate Fund

- The IDB has recently approved a non-reimbursable Technical Cooperation titled ‘RG-

X1255 : Green Climate Fund Readiness Support for Central America and Bolivia5’.

This TC will support Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Bolivia

in preparing and accessing resources from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), to enable and

catalyze climate investments towards, low carbon, climate resilient technology and

infrastructure (natural and physical), as well as to conserve essential natural resources

which provide key local and global services. The TC is now under implementation, and from

the total still USD 532,000 are yet to be disbursed, and only USD 28,000 have been

disbursed by the 29th of February of 2016.

5 More information on the TC is available at: http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-X1255

http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-X1255

http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-X1255



3 RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 General recommendations

The first recommendation is to plan interventions based on a catchment perspective. Using a

master plan for the whole catchment as starting point will allow for more effective and efficient

interventions. Local no-regret interventions will always be useful, however, if these are not

assessed properly in the up- and downstream interdependencies, these interventions could lead to

negative effects. Discharge, erosion and sedimentation are processes that can have effects over

long distances. Therefore it is necessary to gain knowledge on a catchment level and to start

building models for the whole catchment to improve understanding and quantification of these

interdependencies.

Integrated planning also requires coordination between all stakeholders involved. The participation

of these stakeholders will facilitate the implementation and will also avoid that these actors take

other actions that affect interventions in a negative manner.

Monitoring is crucial. Information is needed for sound decision making. This information normally is

based on data collected over many years. There seems to be a lot of information, but the

information is spread over numerous organizations / institutions and is not easily accessible.

During our trip we’ve heard several times that it is necessary to start with stock taking of the

information that has been collected over the years and based on what exists, develop a plan to

continue or start collecting data.

When planning interventions it should be assured that not only the technical aspects of the

measures are taken in to consideration. Also the institutional and relational aspects have to be

assessed and planned. This means that institutional and legal responsibilities during the

implementation as well as during operation and maintenance have to be defined. This includes

financial responsibilities and how it is guaranteed that the responsible actors will have the means to

fulfil the tasks. Furthermore, while planning the intervention an analysis has to be made of the

different objectives of involved actors to assure that these are taken in to consideration in a proper

manner. This does not mean that interventions have to answer to all objectives but consequences

should be assessed and compensated if appropriate.

The responsible authorities do not seem to have the legal basis, the legal instruments nor the

capacity to assure compliance with the existing norms and regulations. Institutional capacity

building is needed, but this can only be done in an efficient manner if more clarity is created in

relation to responsibilities. Often it is chosen to form interinstitutional committees for challenges

that are broader than the mandates of specific authorities. This can work, however, this shared

responsibility should not lead to a situation that nobody is responsible for achieving the overarching

objectives. Hence, for each interinstitutional committee the mandates have to be established in a

transparent and legal manner.

Taking in to consideration that many different actors have to be involved it is crucial that their roles

are clear and that it is also clear who has the overarching responsibility to reduce flood risks, to

mitigate the sedimentation and, for example, to protect the drinking water resources in a

catchment.

Combining water management and spatial planning is crucial. This will assure that no interventions

will be planned that have negative effects on either side, but it will also lead to win-win situations

when integration is done properly.



Planning has to be done on different time-scales. It will always be necessary to take immediate

actions. But is should be assessed whether these short term action will not limit future

development. If these immediate interventions have proven to be no-regret measures, flexibility in

planning mid- and long-term interventions will be optimized.

In relation to water governance it is recommendable to initiate a project where good governance

practice can be planned and implemented from the start. The development of a Master plan for the

region ‘Pacifico Norte’ would be a suitable case and could be used to exchange knowledge on water

governance and to implement the concept optimally. This recommendation is based on the results

of the meeting where recapitulation of the results of the first mission took place.

To carry out projects in the catchments of the Caribbean slopes, financing can be obtained from

different sources (CNE, IFI’s, FEPI, JAPDEVA, etc.) It is important that coordination between these

sources takes place and that initiatives are developed to study catchments in an integral manner.

This will provide the required information to identify and make decisions on interventions that take

in to consideration the interlinkages. This will increase the effectiveness and the efficiency of the

interventions to reduce flood risks, to secure availability of drinking water and to control or

mitigate effects of erosion and sedimentation processes.

3.2 Technical recommendations

a. Set back dikes

In particular for dynamic rivers it is recommended to separate the measures to protect bed and

bank from the principal dike that protects against inundation (see figure 3.1). It could even be

considered to allow the river to meander in the set-back strip and to use a relatively natural and

simple bank protection. In this case the impact of defense structures on the river morphology is

minimized.

Set back dikes have been used in the Netherlands for centuries. Small “summer dikes” along the

river prevent the set-back strips from inundation under normal circumstances for say a period of at

least 95% of the year. The “winter dikes” or primary dikes prevent the hinterland from inundation.

The land use in the set-back strip is normally restricted to agriculture, summer recreation or

nature. A technical advantage of the use of set-back dikes is the relatively low construction costs

as those dikes can be built on land and the height of the dike is relatively small.

b. Bed and bank protection

In certain situations it can be very complicated to implement the principle of set-back solutions

especially when it concerns an emergency location. For instance when houses are built on a dike or

river bank or when an important structure is present close to the river bed.

Figure 3-1Principal of a set back dike



During the site visit we observed some of those locations, for instance the bridge of highway 32

over the Chirripó River. At these locations proper bed and bank protection is required to prevent

under cutting of the slope. Given the nature of the river we recommend to use flexible protection

that extends sufficiently far into the river bed. In this case the bed protection acts like a falling

apron and follows the movements of the river bed but keeps the toe of the slope stable and

protected. An alternative for a falling apron is the use of a buried bed protection below the river

bed (figure 3-2).

c. Bed and bank protection systems

One should be cautious to apply bed and bank protection systems in Costa Rican rivers that have

been proven to be successful in the Netherlands. The high flow velocities of the Costa Rican rivers

require significantly larger armour stone. The stone size of alluvium that is locally present in river

beds is too small to be stable by its own weight during a design flood event. Borrowing larger stone

from quarries can be expensive (transport) and extending quarries or exploiting new green field

quarries might have environmental impacts that need to be investigated first. The Dutch traditional

system of willow mats and geotextile covered by loose armour stone is therefore less suitable.

Prefabricated solutions such as concrete blocks on a mat of geotextile or Armor Flex are practical

solutions. Armor flex was already used in the area near the drinking water intake in the Bananito

catchment.

An alternative is to use flexible containers of steel mesh filled with locally borrowed stones. This

solution is similar to gabions but has much higher flexibility due to the shape of the containe rs and

the woven steel wires. These properties allow the structure to follow the river bed during the

process of erosion. This structure is known under the name reno mattresses.

The use of river training works such as groynes can be very successful but it is important to

understand this solution and its side effects locally as well as up- and downstream. In the

Netherlands groynes have proven to be effective. However recently groynes have been lowered to

increase the discharge capacity of our rivers during a flood event.

d. Anticipate on future developments

In Dutch dike design it is common practice to anticipate future developments, such as future

settlements, increase in future flood levels due to global warming, or morphological developments.

The impact of dike construction on the local community is significant and therefore dikes designed

for a period of 50 years or even 100 years in case of no regret situations, for instance in case of

rigid structures that cannot be easily adjusted.

Dike construction in Costa Rica is mostly related to recovery and repair after a failure or a near

failure and repair works are limited to the problem location. Especially the dynamic rivers and the

Figure 3-2Burried bed protection and falling apron



significant amount of sedimentation and the effects of climate change and seismic events require

more robustness in the design of bed- and bank protection and in dike design. Also, the challenges

should be assessed in a more holistic manner, taking in to consideration the catchment as an

interrelated system.

The limited resources and available time to study and model the actual and future developments of

the river should not prevent the engineers from anticipating uncertain developments. Local

knowledge of the river’s morphological history and study of satellite images can be useful to

estimate how the river might develop. The Dutch design concept is that uncertainty should be

translated into robustness. Design will be optimized when the accuracy of the predictions increases.

e. Maintenance

For several reasons maintenance of dikes receives insufficient attention in Costa Rica: lack of staff

to carry out inspections and maintenance and lack of budget that has been reserved for regular

maintenance works. In particular for dynamic rivers inspection and maintenance are prudent.

Dredging in low lying areas is crucial almost everywhere to assure navigability and discharge

capacity.

Realistic maintenance schedules should therefore be considered early on in the design stage and

during the consideration of alternatives. Each alternative has its own requirements in relation to

maintenance and consequential costs. Constructing dikes near the river banks are generally more

sensitive for maintenance than set back dikes. Bank protection with Reno mattresses6 will require

inspection but are more easily maintainable.

The strong interaction between Dutch water boards, responsible for maintenance of the dikes, and

the design engineers has resulted in maintenance friendly designs with special attention to, for

instance: geometrical requirements, accessibility for inspection and maintenance, slope protection

and restriction to overgrowing, trees and subsurface infrastructure. These practical design

considerations could be applicable in Costa Rican design practice as well.

f. Requirements tenderers

CNE coordinates with engineers of MOPT and SENARA the need for gathering information required

to properly tender an emergency measure. Our understanding is that tender documents normally

include design requirements and blueprint solutions. The Contractor and consultant will define a

detailed design for construction. An alternative for blueprint solutions and design criteria is the use

of functional criteria (e.g. flood return periods). When using functional criteria, the contractor is

challenged to find an optimal tailor made solution. This opens up room for the consideration of

alternatives such as set-back solutions, future resistant design, and carrying out a Life Cycle

Analysis that includes investments as well as recurring costs.

g. Evaluation

Learning from mistakes as well as from successful projects and sharing knowledge is one of the

pillars of successful dike and river engineering. Successful solutions in certain circumstances could

be applied elsewhere. Care should be taken with prescribing standard solutions.

h. Modelling and monitoring

Design basis statements and design requirements require information on the baseline or reference

situation. Discharges and sediment transport are currently not well documented and should ideally

be substantiated by a proper hydraulic and morphologic model. A stepwise approach on catchment

6 Reno mattresses are mesh of steel wire fi l led with rock used for river bank and scour protection, channel l inings for erosion control, and embankment stability. Their flexible and permeable structure promote rapid growth of natural vegetation.



scale is strongly advised. Lessons could be learned from experiences with all different kind of

models that have been used to model the Dutch national and regional rivers in flat polder areas as

well as the more inclined area in the East and the South of our country.

3.3 Recommendations related to finance

3.3.1 Areas for improvement:

In order to ensure Value for Money in public investments, especially those aiming at Disaster Risk

Reduction and flood protection, it is necessary to strengthen the process of analysis of variants or

alternative measures by developing practical and methodological instruments that embody such

system understanding. The current approach of trial and error results often in public works with

limited durability. In some of the areas visited flood protection measures taken have collapsed in

less than a year.

Additionally the public investment system in general –not only concerning disaster risk reduction

measures- could profit from streamlining of project cycles and more effort being invested in project

preparation and the creation of a pipeline of projects in the medium and long term. There seem to

be limited experience within public institutions in project development and preparation, which often

results in delays and significantly low levels of budget and loans execution. Enough attention to

project development is a must if Costa Rica plans to increase the share of the private sector in

financing public infrastructure. Related to this point is the need to strengthen public procurement

procedures; define clear steps, rules and times to be taken per step, and ensure their fulfilment so

as to create a positive atmosphere for private sector investment and give to project developers

preparing unsolicited proposals -and their lenders- enough certainty to invest in all the studies

requires prior to feasibility.

A higher level of integration and coordination between institutions, donors’ initiatives and the

corresponding funds could significantly speed up the process of implementation of flood prevention

measures. Some of the gaps identified are:

- Many environmental and climate related funds –such as the ones administered by USAID-

are channeled via the Water Direction of MINAE, without being ensured that the action and

initiatives undertaken are the result of a consensus with other disaster risk reduction

related institutions

- CNE funds are mostly directed towards the attention of emergency and reconstruction, and

the assumption is taken that prevention efforts as well as maintenance efforts are being

take care of by local authorities. Our observations challenge this assumption. Most local

authorities prefer to wait for a disaster to happen so that national funds are allocated.

Along with the need for more coordinated action between the authorities in the Caribbean region,

public and private efforts in disaster risk reduction would benefit from the adoption of a Life Cycle

approach, where structural measures and infrastructure works are conceived not as one time

capital investments but more as a number of services for which continuity should be guaranteed.

Accordingly for each investment to be done in disaster risk reduction the Total Cost of Ownership of

these assets and their Life Cycle Costs for their total useful life should be estimated and budgeted

for, even if it is by different institutions and government layers. To guarantee these works keep

fulfilling their function a regular monitoring of their condition and/or performance they deliver

should be realized. Equally important is to make formal agreements or contracts between

institutions to ensure maintenance is given and deterioration processes are detected early.

3.3.2 Opportunities

Despite the identified need for improvement, a number of positive trends and events have been

observed:

Given the urgency feeling created in the region due to the floods, most of the relevant authorities

for disaster risk reduction work closely together and have monthly meetings to give shape to the



reconstruction plan and the flood protection strategies. This increasing cooperation between CNE,

FEPI (Corbana), JAPDEVA and MOPT in Limon has a number of very positive aspects:

a. Banana growers are working towards collective and concerted action at river basin level,

leaving behind the farm level approach for flood protection that is often counterproductive

b. Private funds for prevention of FEPI are combined and used complementary to public funds for

emergency and reconstruction of the CNE. FEPI funds had already started to finance important

modelling efforts, based on which a flood protection master plan is being drafted. Given the

emergency state declared, CNE funds for reconstruction have been made available; and these

can be used for actions prioritized by the analyses already being undertaken by FEPI.

c. Additionally to FEPI and CNE funds for reconstruction, funds of JAPDEVA aimed at regional

development are also being blended to finance the efforts in disaster risk reduction. These

funds – now around 2 million dollar- will significantly increase once the APM container terminal

enters in operation.

Additionally to these positive developments it is important to mention the interest of institutional

investors such as the INS Valores to cooperate in the development of new financial instruments

and on investing to make possible the implementation of larger scale flood protection plans.

Inspiration for such innovative Project delivery and finance approaches for flood protection plans

could be found in UK examples, such as the Broadland Flood Alleviation Project (BFAP). Similar

PPP models are being shaped by the World Bank in other Latin American countries. Meanwhile a

comprehensive disaster risk reduction plan had already being developed and financed by DOLE by

1996, in the Valle la Estrella. Adoption of this proven approach in other regions should be

stimulated.



Annex A – DRR-Team

Dutch Risk Reduction Team: reducing the risk of water related disasters

Many countries around the world face severe water threats. Often, these countries are in urgent

need of expert advice on how to prevent a disaster or how to recover from a calamity. For

instance, when a country has been struck by severe flooding and the first emergency relief workers have gone, the need for advice on how to build a sustainable and safer water future arises. To

meet these needs with a swift response, the Dutch government has initiated the Dutch Risk Reduction Team (DRR-Team). This team of experts advises governments on how to resolve urgent

water issues related to flood risks, water pollution and water supply, to prevent disasters or to rebuild after water related disasters. With climate change and a fast growing world population,

water issues are becoming more urgent. As a country renowned for its expertise on water and

delta management, the Netherlands feels a responsibility to share its’ knowledge worldwide. That is just what the DRR-Team does; sharing expertise with governments to come up with the best

possible approach/solutions for tackling urgent water issues. Because of the unique cooperation between government and sector, the best experts can be fielded quickly. The Dutch government

offers a specific number of advisory missions each year.

Advice for all water issues

The Netherlands has brought its best water experts together in the Dutch Risk Reduction Team. It consists of high level advisors supported by a broad base of technical experts who can provide top

quality and tailor made expertise to governments that are confronted with severe and urgent water challenges. The Dutch are experts in adapting to water in a changing world; from delta

management to water technology, from urban planning to governance, public private partnerships

and financial engineering.

How does the DRR-Team work?

Governments that have to deal with an urgent water issue are encouraged to contact the Dutch

embassy in their region. The embassy will liaise quickly with the Dutch government. Interventions

will only take place after a request from a central government has been received by the Dutch government, and after a recent calamity or to prevent a threatening disaster. The DRR-Team does

not focus on emergency relief, but on sustainable solutions. If the decision to respond to the request is made, relevant Dutch experts will be rapidly fielded to the area that is under pressure.

Together with the government and local experts, the situation will be assessed and analyzed after which the team will come up with a set of recommendations. For example advice on technical

interventions including immediate measures and long term sustainable solutions, advice on

governance and advice on financing options. The DRR-Team enables a foreign government to take action on the basis of sound advice and expertise.



Annex B – Terms of Reference



Annex C – Mission program

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Alexander Burns Fiscalizador CNE [email protected] 8855-4733

Klaas de Groot Coordinador general, Experto gestión intergal de agua DRR [email protected]

Monica Altamirano Experta en sostenibilidad financiera DRR [email protected]

Albert Wiggers Experto en obras de prevención de inundaciones DRR [email protected]

Amber Douma Oficial de Agua y Clima Embajada de Holanda [email protected] 8829-3484

Parmenio Rojas Fiscalizador CNE [email protected]

Angelith Rojas Periodista CNE [email protected]

Rafael Oreamuno Director del centro de investigación del desarrollo sostenible UCR [email protected]

Lidier Esquivel jefe de investigacion y analisis del riesgo CNE [email protected]

Adolfo Vazques Proyectos Senara [email protected]

Alejandro Rodriguez Proyectos Senara [email protected]

Jose Pablo Mora CORBANA [email protected] 2202-4776

Pablo Porras Asesor Hidrólogo APMT [email protected]

Silvia Gamboa Gerente RSE APMT [email protected]

Wilbert Zuñiga Jefe de Obras Fluviales MOPT [email protected]; wzunigaf.mopt.go.cr

Adolfo Vazques Proyectos Senara [email protected]

Alejandro Rodriguez Proyectos Senara [email protected]

Moises Bermudez [email protected]

Jorge Madrigal

Wilbert Zuñiga Jefe de Obras Fluviales [email protected]; wzunigaf.mopt.go.cr

Adolfo Vazques Proyectos Senara [email protected] 88249663

Alejandro Rodriguez Senara [email protected]

Michael Calderon Q. Japdeva [email protected] 88851819

Silvia Gamboa Gerente Responsabilidad Social Empresarial APM terminals

Municipalidad

Geo.Lorena Romero

Ofician de Gestión de Riesgo

[email protected]

[email protected]

Sra. Svetlana Kompaniet Red pluvial

Ing. Manuel Ordeñana Gerencia de Provisión de Servicios

Licda. Johana Avila Vargas Gestión Gestión Ambiental Alajuelita

Ing. Gustavo Mora Fonseca Ingeniería Curridabat

Sra. Sofía Pérez Jiménez Gestión Ambiental

Sra. Pía Paulsen

Sra. Jose Retana Vindas

Sra. Marco Coto Segura

Ing. Rebeca Soto Arce Ingeniería Ingeniería Aserri

Sr. Luis Fernando Estrada Oficina de Gestión de Riesgo Turrialba

Eli Rodríguez Araya Gestión Gestión Ambiental

Geól. Michelle Arias Proceso de Contraloría Ambiental. Escazú

Ing. Sandra Blanco A, Macroproceso de Ingeniería y Obras

Mag. Gabriela Mora M, Gestión del Riesgo y Atención de Emergencias.

Sr. Alberto Ureña Herrera Gestion Ambiental San Ana

Sr.Eduardo Vindas Mora Gestión Ambiental Desamparados

Barrientos ( vice alcalde) ViceAlcalde

Lic. Gustavo Lara BarqueroGestión Ambiental Montes de Oca

Annia Cordero Gestión Gestión Ambiental La Unión

Grettel Agüero Alfaro Gestión Ambiental Mora

Marvin Coto SENARA [email protected] 2257-9733Isabel Guzmán ITCR [email protected]

Juan Diego Naranjo Díaz IMN

Jorge Granados ICE

Rafael Oreamuno UCR

Lidier Esquivel CNE

Moisés Bermúdez AyA

Sheily Vallejos Directora de Gestión de Riesgo CNE [email protected]

Maria Gabriela Vega Asistente del Director CNE [email protected]

Orlando MarinJefe a.i. Gestión de Procesos de Reconstrucción

CNE [email protected] 22102741

Marco Saborio Departamento de relaciones internacionales y cooperación CNE Marco Saborio Mesen <[email protected]>

DRR Team 7 -11 de marzo

Equipo de la missión

Reunion Academia-

Gobierno-Sector

Privado

Dia 1

Dia 2

Dia 3

Gira a rio Babanito y

Banano

Dia 4

Dia 5

Espacio para el Rio

Gira Estero Parismina

Debriefing

San José

Gestion intergal de

Cuencas

Dia 4



Annex D – CV Team members



Annex E– Presentation ‘Flood risk challenges on the Caribbean slopes’



Annex F – Presentation JAPDEVA on Delta challenges near Parismina



Annex G - Research approach for financial sustainability

Pillar Element Relationship to the financing

disaster risk reduction measures

Organizations interviewed

Public Finance/

National Public Investm

ent System (SNIP)

General SNIP procedures

Set the rules of the game on how project and project phases are financed. Who has to take the

initiative, who has to endorse it and which funds and/or loans can be accessed by different actors.

The system quality and transparency are good indicators for the private sector on how safe is

to invest and/or participate in national tenders and projects.

Paola Benavides, Unidad

APP, Hacienda

Alexander Burns and

Parmenio, reconstrucción,

C.N.E.

Michael Calderon,

Administración de

Desarrollo, JAPDEVA

Wilbert, Obras Fluviales,

MOPT

Marcos Camacho, BID

Alexander Garita ,

Ejecutivo de Proyectos,

BCIE (Oficina Regional de

Costa Rica)

Luis Varela ,Analista de

Créditos , BCIE(Oficina

Regional de Costa Rica)

Disaster Risk

Management – within SNIP

procedures

How risks are managed along the project cycle of infrastructure

investments (where water management is relevant) and how these risks are shared with the

private sector give an indication of A) which sector – public or private- is responsible for managing these

risks and therefore willing to invest in disaster risk reduction measures. B) Gaps within the

investment system that need to solved with disaster risk reduction and system understanding

expertise. Besides, the distribution of disaster

risk reduction responsibilities between government layers and their budgeting gives an indication

of the financial feasibility (and steps towards implementation) of disaster

risk reduction measures.

ODA/

Developme

Important to identify additional

sources of funds and/or strategic



nt Cooperatio

n and Technical assistance

partners to implement and finance the proposed initiatives.

Disaster

Risk Financing Pillar of

disaster risk

reduction

A country with an otherwise robust

disaster risk management program can still be highly exposed to budgetary shocks caused by major

disasters. Disaster risk financing and insurance helps ensure that governments, businesses, and

people are financially protected in the event of a disaster. Knowing the options in a country gives

information on the possible funds that become available after a disaster, as well as on the

incentives of different actors to prevent such risks and therefore their insurance risk premiums. A

number of Dutch solutions and information services are of high potential when used in combination

with insurance services (e.g. Flood Index Based insurances that make use of models as well as remote

sensing date to reduce time and cost of processing of claims):

Hori Tsuneki (Ph.D)

Disaster Risk Management

Specialist (INE/RND) , BID

(Interview via Skype).

Private

Finance

PPP and

private initiative modalities

– Private financing of Infrastructu

re

Understanding of these modalities

and how financing and funding for each of them is arranged completes the overview of public financing

options. PPP’s and private initiatives are an increasingly used option by countries within their

national strategies for infrastructure Investments. The structural measures the DRR team proposed

fall within or are comparable to infrastructure investments.

Andrea González, Directora

de Alianzas Público

Privadas, Despacho de la

Vicepresidenta

Silvia Gamboa, E&S

Manager, APM Terminals

Moín

Majorie Ureña, Subgerente

general, Corbana – Fondo

FEPI

Ricardo Casola, DOLE

Olga Saume, Asociación

Empresarial para el

Desarrollo

Capital

Markets & Project Finance

While PPP modalities give the

overview of the ways a government is open to private financing and the attractiveness of these modalities to

the private sector, capital markets and their depth determine if private parties are able or not to access the

Federico Villalobos,

Gerente Banca de

Inversión, INSValores



loans they need to (pre)finance such projects.

Climate

Finance and Innovati

ve Finance

Climate

Funds – for Climate adaptation

projects

Climate Finance is the term given

to a new set of funds and financing instruments set in place by the international community to speed

up the process of implementation of climate adaptation and climate mitigation actions. Example are

concessional loans, trust funds, guarantees and other instruments that improve the financial viability of

projects and/or de-risk particular project phases. These funds can be accessed by public but also by

private actors.

Viki Limaye, First

Secretary, Environmental

Hub for Central America

and the Caribbean

Payments for Watershed

Services, Water funds

The establishment of such initiatives incentivizes the Private Sector to participate in collective

(river basin) actions to reduce their water risks – and creates new opportunities to finance projects



Annex H - Presentation flood risks and interventions in urban areas



Annex I - Presentation Debriefing

DRR-Team Mission Report · DRR-TEAM MISSION REPORT Costa Rica 28 April ‘16 - 2 - 28 April 2016...

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Transcript of DRR-Team Mission Report · DRR-TEAM MISSION REPORT Costa Rica 28 April ‘16 - 2 - 28 April 2016...