Whether the Ministry of Environment and Energy took over the administration of permits to cut and transport trees in mid-1998 and if so, which agency administered the permits prior to this period [CRI37139.E]

In a 22 June 2001 telephone interview, the secretary of the press office at the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía, MINAE) in San José stated that the administration of permits to cut and transport trees has been the responsibility of the Costa Rican state since 1967. She stated specifically that MINAE has been responsible for issuing the permits since it was created on 13 November 1995 and that the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mines (Ministerio de Recursos Naturales, Energía y Minas), MINAE's predecessor, was responsible for the same task for the period going back to 4 June 1990 when the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mines was created.

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference


Ministerio del Medio Ambiente y Energía (MINAE), San José, Costa Rica. 22 June 2001. Telephone interview with the secretary of the press office.

Additional Sources Consulted


IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites including:

La Nación [San José]. Search Engine. 1998-2001

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