Recover and Preserve
It all started in 1996, when a group of people from the Alfaro Ruiz canton formed a movement to raise awareness among fellow citizens on the importance of protecting the aquifers of the highest parts of river Tapezco’s basin. This is an area that needed to be recovered and preserved, given that its streaming feeds various systems of drinking water, irrigation and drainage.
Three years later, on May 24, 1999, the Association Source Administrator of the Aquifers of the Alfaro Ruiz Canton (AFAMAAR, by its initials in Spanish) was officially and legally registered, and by then it had already completed the purchase of some properties with resources obtained through communal activities and personal contributions.
The epicenter of the area which was taken as a priority target is located between the coordinates 496-500 and 245-249 of the Quesada cartographic chart, where as to date over 500 hectares have been acquired.
The initial objective of rescuing the aquifers is complemented today with the biological recovery of the area and, given its boundary with the Juan Castro Blanco National Park, it is becoming a natural containment wall. Furthermore, there is an ongoing plan to establish a biological corridor between the Juan Castro Blanco National Park and the El Chayote forest reserve. Several experts are also studying the possibility of developing basic infrastructure to offer an alternative to Monteverde, aimed at tourists and biodiversity researchers.
AFAMAAR Organically
AFAMAAR is duly entered in the register of Associations of the Civil Registry under file No. 11.823, forming sheets 2-11 and with legal writ No. 3-002-257510. Published in the official newspaper La Gaceta, No. 236 of Dec. 6, 1999.
In addition, the General Comptroller of the Republic and in accordance with the provisions of the Act No. 7755/98, has awarded the Association with the qualification of suitable private entity for the management of public funds from specific items and transfers included in the national budget.
Current Board of Directors
- President: William White Alfaro
- Vice President: Claudio Blanco Cubillo
- Secretary: Carlos Corrales Guillermo Zúñiga
- Treasurer: Rogelio Rodríguez Fernández
- Vocal: Felix Huertas Corrales
- Vocal: Marco Tulio Quesada Araya
- Prosecutor: Javier Blanco Alfaro
Office address: 100 meters north of the National Bank in Zarcero, Alfaro Ruiz, Alajuela.
Tel: +506 2463-3173 / Fax: +506 2463-3818
Upper Tapezco River Basin
This basin has an area of 23.07 km2 and drains its waters to the San Carlos river, its parent basin. The records indicate an annual rainfall of 4034 mm, and an evaporation of 1849 mm.
For its hydrological and topographical conditions, the area concentrates most of water utilizations, mainly in the peripheral areas of the basin.
During the summers of recent years, the basin has been affected by the lack of availability of hydric resources. This is compounded by the area’s increasing development, since human settlements and agricultural production cause an inevitable rise in demand. Here, milk farming and horticulture play a decisive role in domestic consumption and exportations, another reason to consider this area as one of the most valuable in the country.
Therefore, the use of irrigation for production throughout the year is considered vital, as a way to meet the growing demand of different types of products.