Findings from the 2025 Report support the diagnoses and proposals of the Nosara Civic Association.

The 2025 State of the Nation Report, for the first time, incorporates Nosara as a national case study to analyze the pressures of real-estate development and territorial tensions in the coastal areas of Guanacaste.

The findings presented by the State of the Nation Program coincide with the diagnoses and strategies advanced by the Nosara Civic Association: Nosara is facing accelerated growth in the absence of a robust territorial planning framework, which is producing environmental, social, and economic impacts that require urgent attention from State institutions.

The Report recognizes real-estate pressure in Nosara.

The document states that communities like Nosara have experienced “accelerated growth in the construction of residential projects, accompanied by an increase in land prices and demand for services.”

It also confirms that the increase in real-estate development has occurred through the subdivision of rural properties to build luxury homes, a pattern documented as typical of expanding tourist hubs.

Absence of territorial planning: a risk for the community.

The Report clearly states that “these dynamics of real-estate development occur in a context of limited territorial planning, which generates negative externalities on the population, livelihoods, and human development.”

This recognition is central: the State of the Nation confirms that the lack of clear rules and institutional capacity is at the heart of the territorial conflict in Nosara.

Social tensions: a real phenomenon on the coasts of Guanacaste.

The Report dedicates an entire section to the national debate on gentrification in coastal areas. It notes that the phenomenon is generating profound transformations in access to housing, the displacement of people, and the structure of the local economy.

The Report does not draw conclusions about this phenomenon, but it does mention evidence related to rising prices, the displacement of rural families, accelerated land-use transformation, and the concentration of high incomes in specific territories.

The Nosara Civic Association as a source of information and key actor

The State of the Nation included data and analysis from research conducted in Nosara by NCA’s technical teams, recognizing the importance of having information generated by community organizations with technical and professional grounding.

This community association, with 50 years of promoting conservation in the district, views this as a firm step toward a technical and evidence-based debate around the territorial development of Nosara.

Territorial Planning: the right path

The proposal for Nosara’s Temporary Construction Regulation, promoted by the Nosara Civic Association and approved by the Municipality of Nicoya since 2020, aligns directly with these conclusions by establishing basic rules aimed at protecting aquifer recharge areas, regulating densities, and improving the balance between real-estate growth and conservation.

“The publication of the State of the Nation confirms what we as neighbors have experienced in Nosara: accelerated growth without planning is generating environmental and social costs that can be avoided if we act with clear rules. Nosara needs territorial planning, and it needs institutions to be present. The evidence is on the table” said Marco Villegas, Executive Director of the Nosara Civic Association.

A call to the Costa Rican State.

The Nosara Civic Association calls on the Judicial Branch, Minae, Municipality of Nicoya, CFIA, Senara, and the Water Directorate to address the recommendations of the State of the Nation and act urgently in three priority areas:

-Implement the Temporary Construction Regulation specific to the buffer zone of the Ostional Refuge in Nosara, which is currently under Administrative Litigation after being appealed by a developer.
-Accelerate the formulation of the Nicoya Canton Land-Use Plan.
-Strengthen environmental enforcement and community coordination.

The 2025 State of the Nation Report confirms that Nosara is now an emblematic case of the tensions between conservation, growth, and social well-being.