Legal and regulatory framework

Progress has been made in both countries toward defining a legal framework for work in national and international environmental management regimes. Creation of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) in Costa Rica, and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) in Nicaragua are positive developments. However, two limitations remain: (1) institutional and organizational capacities for environmental management and administration are weak, and (2) gaps and duplications make successful implementation difficult.

Both countries have numerous institutions that directly or indirectly have management authority over water, making boundaries and responsibilities difficult to establish. Existing constitutional and institutional mandates, laws, and international agreements should make for a sufficient regulatory framework for environmental management. Limitations to their successful use are associated with a lack of the institutional, technical, and organizational capacity required to enforce compliance with this regulatory framework.

Likewise, instruments that regulate bi-national relations with respect to borders exist, but instruments for the joint management of water resources are lacking. Bi-national initiatives have concentrated on a few agreements regarding specific work such as the Si-a-Paz (Protected Areas for Peace). A Binational Commission has been reestablished to deal with border issues of common interest.