ABSTRACT
On 1 December 2010, the Mining Law was modified to declare Costa Rica as a country permanently free of open-pit gold mining. This is the first such case in Latin America, and it is the result of efforts from numerous Costa Rican civil society organizations and individuals working together to fight against one mining project, Crucitas. This chapter describes the role civil society played in this remarkable decision. The declaration of Costa Rica as an open-pit metal-mining-free country was the highest point of a long citizen crusade to protect natural resources against corporations, governmental institutions, and even a Nobel Peace Prize laureate President, using all possible mechanisms and instruments provided by law. The biodiversity of the region -the green macaws, manatees and gaspar fish and the local communities are protected from this sort of activities and aggression to their integrity.
