Forests · Gandoca-Manzanillo, Talamanca, Limón

Gandoca-Manzanillo Forest Map: Ombudsman Seeks Independent Check

On Feb. 5, 2026, Costa Rica's Ombudsman's Office asked the Constitutional Chamber to have the Judicial Investigation Agency's forensic biologists independently check a MINAE report that found 107.92 hectares of forest in a strip cut out of the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge in 2014. MINAE rejected the objections. It's a request, not a finding: as of late August 2026 the court hadn't ruled, and its freeze on permits in the area remained in place.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Seeks Independent Check on Protected Forest (2026-02-05)

On Costa Rica's southern Caribbean coast, the question of exactly where the forest is, and who gets to decide, has been in court for more than a decade. In February 2026, the country's Ombudsman's Office asked the Constitutional Chamber not to accept the Environment Ministry's latest forest map of the Gandoca-Manzanillo refuge until independent forensic experts check it. The court hasn't decided yet.

What the Ombudsman asked for

As The Tico Times reported on Feb. 5, the Ombudsman's Office (Defensoría de los Habitantes), which takes part in the case as an intervening party, asked the Constitutional Chamber, known as the Sala IV, to order an outside review of a report from the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). It proposed the Forensic Biology section of the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), citing its certified methods and independence from the ministry. The office set out its position in a press release the same day.

The office accepted that MINAE had largely done what the court ordered, but said reasonable doubts remained about its methods, according to Semanario Universidad. It raised three main concerns:

• The baseline year. MINAE measured forest cover as it stood in 2025. The Ombudsman argued that could treat forest cleared while a now-void 2014 law was in force as if it had never been there, clashing with constitutional rules against weakening environmental protection and the duty to restore damaged areas.
• Flooded forests. Swamp forests are treated as a distinct ecosystem in past court rulings. The office said the report didn't show clearly that they'd been mapped separately using expert methods.
• Who checked the work. MINAE had its findings validated by the National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO), which the Ombudsman noted is attached to MINAE and lacks legal authority for this kind of expert review.

How MINAE responded

MINAE rejected the objections the same day. In a statement reported by Delfino.cr, the ministry said the Ombudsman's Office has no experience or technical capacity to judge forestry questions. It said FONAFIFO brought broad forest-management expertise, played no part in producing the maps, and carried out an independent check. MINAE added that the final word belongs to the court and said it wouldn't comment further until then.

What MINAE's report found

The report, signed by Environment Minister Franz Tattenbach and acting SINAC director David Chavarría, went to the court on Sept. 11, 2025. It covered the 186.66-hectare coastal strip, between Cocles and Manzanillo, that a 2014 law (Law 9223) had removed from the refuge. Its main findings:

• 107.92 hectares, about 58% of the strip, still had forest cover and should return to protection.
• Field teams recorded 825 mature trees of 75 species, including cativo, sangrillo and jobo, and noted signs of natural regrowth and the area's role as a wildlife corridor.
• Hundreds of private properties lie in the strip, and the report asked the Attorney General's Office to review 22 with missing or inconsistent registry records.

How the case got here

The Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1986 next to the Panama border. It protects beaches where sea turtles nest, coral reefs, seagrass, mangroves and swamp forests, and it's been a Ramsar wetland of international importance since 1995. In 2013 it was renamed for Jairo Mora Sandoval, a young turtle conservationist murdered on a Limón beach.

In 2014, Law 9223 cut the coastal strip out of the refuge. In July 2019, the Sala IV struck down part of that law (ruling 2019-12745) and ordered SINAC to map which land was forest so it could return to protection. Progress was slow. In March 2025, the court froze new and existing municipal permits and concessions on the affected forest land, halted MINAE logging permits in seven forest sections, and kept those measures in place until it receives a full compliance report. In June 2025, it widened the freeze to filings seeking to register property in the area.

What's happened since

The Ombudsman isn't alone. Delfino.cr reported in August that the Attorney General's Office (PGR) had asked the court back on March 9, 2026, to order a forensic study by the OIJ's biology and engineering sections, after forensic biologists found differences between SINAC's measurements and earlier studies. On Aug. 20, Marco Levy Virgo of the Asociación de Desarrollo para la Ecología asked the PGR to go to the OIJ directly. The PGR replied that only a court or prosecutor can order that work.

As of Aug. 29, 2026, the court's press office said the magistrates hadn't yet taken up the request. Attorney General Iván Vincenti Rojas said the freeze on permits stays in force until the court decides. We found no ruling after that date.

What it means for visitors and residents

The case is about land use and permits, not public access, so it doesn't close the refuge to visitors. Stick to marked trails and public beaches, and hire local guides for the forest. For anyone eyeing land along the Cocles to Manzanillo coast, the message is caution: building and logging permits on the disputed forest land remain suspended while the case is open. Our guide to private land conservation covers the legal tools owners can use to protect forest on their own property. Read about leatherbacks arriving early on Caribbean nesting beaches and the campaign to help Costa Rica's coral reefs, or browse refuges on our nature reserves map.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge?

It's a protected area on Costa Rica's southern Caribbean coast, in Talamanca near the Panama border, created in 1986. It protects turtle-nesting beaches, coral reefs, mangroves and swamp forests and is a Ramsar wetland site.

Did the court order an independent review of the Gandoca-Manzanillo forest map?

Not as of late August 2026. The Ombudsman requested it in February 2026 and the Attorney General's Office in March, but the court's press office said the magistrates hadn't taken it up yet.

How much forest did MINAE find in the disputed Gandoca-Manzanillo strip?

107.92 hectares, about 58% of the 186.66-hectare strip removed from the refuge in 2014.

Can you build near Manzanillo right now?

On the forest land covered by the court's measures, new and existing municipal permits and concessions have been suspended since March 2025, and they stay suspended until the court rules.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Seeks Independent Check on Protected Forest (2026-02-05)
2. Defensoría de los Habitantes: Comunicado 027, seguimiento al caso para proteger el Refugio Gandoca-Manzanillo (2026-02-05)
3. Semanario Universidad: Defensoría pide a Sala IV que ordene validación técnica del OIJ a informe del MINAE sobre bosques de Gandoca-Manzanillo (2026-02-05)
4. Delfino.cr: MINAE rechaza solicitud de la Defensoría en caso Gandoca-Manzanillo (2026-02-05)
5. Delfino.cr: MINAE reconoce 107 hectáreas de bosque en zona desprotegida del Refugio Gandoca-Manzanillo desde 2014 (2025-10-07)
6. Delfino.cr: PGR pidió desde marzo peritaje del OIJ para precisar delimitación de bosques en Gandoca-Manzanillo (2026-08-29)

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.