Wildlife · Nationwide

Wildlife Crossings Law Makes Costa Rica's Roads Plan for Animals

Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly gave final approval on Aug. 4, 2026, to a law requiring wildlife crossings on national and municipal roads wherever studies show traffic cuts off animal movement. Published as Law 10970 on Sept. 7, 2026, it's now in force, but SINAC's survey of danger spots on existing roads won't start until regulations are written.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Approves Wildlife Crossings Law to Protect Animals (2026-08-05)

Costa Rica now has a law that makes road builders think about animals before they pour asphalt. Lawmakers gave final approval to the wildlife crossings bill on Aug. 4, 2026, and it was published as Law 10970 on Sept. 7, which is when it took effect. It requires tunnels, bridges and other crossings wherever studies show a road is cutting off wildlife. The catch: the rules that put it into practice are still being written.

From bill to law

The Tico Times reported on Aug. 5 that the Legislative Assembly passed the bill in its second and final debate with 56 votes in favor and one lawmaker absent. Delfino.cr confirmed the vote was on Tuesday, Aug. 4, with none against, and identified the bill as file 23.166.

It was a close call. Former Frente Amplio lawmaker Ariel Robles Barrantes introduced it in June 2022. It passed first debate on April 21, 2026, and in June lawmakers had to extend its deadline to keep it from being shelved automatically.

After approval it went to the executive branch. The law was published in Alcance 118 to La Gaceta 168 on Sept. 7, 2026, according to the text of Law 10970, which states it takes effect on publication. The public works ministry also files the law, with its La Gaceta details, in its official legal repository. Its formal name adds an article 31 bis to the Organic Environmental Law (Law 7554), titled the Law to Guarantee Wildlife Crossings in Infrastructure.

What the law requires

The law doesn't set a quota of crossings. Instead, it makes science the trigger:

• Where: On national and municipal roads wherever technical studies show a road disrupts animal movement or splits land or water habitats, with special attention to protected areas, forests and biological corridors.
• What: Crossings can be tunnels, culverts, dry underpasses, guide fencing, or rope and canopy bridges for tree-dwelling animals like monkeys and sloths. The design depends on the species and terrain.
• New roads: Crossings and their cost must be planned from the start. SETENA, the national environmental review agency, has to confirm projects include wildlife measures before granting environmental approval.
• Existing roads: Wildlife measures must be added when roads are repaired, widened or maintained in places where they've broken ecological connections.
• Who does what: Developers study high-risk sections, SINAC (the national conservation areas system) approves the studies, and the company installs the crossings. Public works ministry MOPT and municipalities must coordinate with SINAC when planning.

Why Costa Rica needed it

The numbers are hard to ignore. Universidad Latina research has compiled more than 19,000 wildlife roadkill records from 1996 to 2025, Delfino.cr reported. On one 20-kilometer stretch of Route 253 between Comunidad and Papagayo in Guanacaste, researchers estimated about 7,000 wildlife collisions in 2019 alone.

Wild cats are hit often. Delfino.cr cited 676 cats killed on national roads from 2012 to 2025, 482 of them ocelots. The monkey rescue group SalveMonos logged 1,552 wildlife accidents from 2011 to 2025, most of them electrocutions on power lines, and primates made up about 85% of its reports. That's a separate problem the government is also tackling, as we covered in Costa Rica's plan to reduce monkey and sloth electrocutions.

Until now, crossings depended on goodwill: a rope bridge put up by a local group here, a culvert there. The people behind many of those projects are profiled in our story on making Costa Rica's roads safer for wildlife. For how crossings fit into wider habitat links, see our guide to nature reserves and wildlife corridors, and our species conservation guide covers the sloths, wild cats and other animals most at risk.

What happens next, and how long it may take

The law is in force, but most of its machinery waits on regulations from the executive branch, which must set design, maintenance and monitoring standards and spell out each agency's role. Teletica reported on Sept. 19 that those regulations were still being drafted, with no completion date.

Once they take effect, SINAC has up to 24 months, subject to budget, to start identifying natural crossing points and danger spots on existing roads. So the first wave of retrofits on today's highways could be more than 2 years away. New projects should feel the change sooner, since environmental approval now depends on including crossings.

What it means for drivers and travelers

For anyone driving in Costa Rica, the practical advice hasn't changed: slow down near forest edges, rivers and signed wildlife zones, especially at dawn and dusk. If you find an injured animal, don't handle it; call SINAC or a licensed wildlife rescue center.

Frequently asked questions

Does Costa Rica have a wildlife crossings law?

Yes. Law 10970 was approved by the Legislative Assembly on Aug. 4, 2026, and took effect when it was published in La Gaceta on Sept. 7, 2026.

What does Costa Rica's wildlife crossings law require?

It requires crossings such as tunnels, culverts and canopy bridges on national and municipal roads wherever technical studies show a road disrupts wildlife movement, both on new projects and during work on existing roads.

When will new wildlife crossings be built on existing roads?

Not right away. Regulations were still being drafted in September 2026, and SINAC then has up to 24 months to identify danger spots on existing roads.

How many animals are killed on Costa Rica's roads?

Universidad Latina has compiled more than 19,000 wildlife roadkill records from 1996 to 2025, and one 20-kilometer stretch of Route 253 had an estimated 7,000 collisions in 2019.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Approves Wildlife Crossings Law to Protect Animals (2026-08-05)
2. Delfino.cr: Asamblea aprueba ley que obliga a incluir pasos de fauna en la infraestructura pública del país (2026-08-05)
3. Bufete de Costa Rica: Ley para garantizar pasos de fauna en infraestructuras, Ley 10970 (law text)
4. MOPT legal repository: Ley No. 10970, Ley para garantizar pasos de fauna en infraestructuras (2026-09-07)
5. Teletica: Ley de pasos de fauna podría tardar más de dos años en implementarse (2026-09-19)

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