Abstract

The Reventazon River has undergone multiple interventions to obtain, from its waters, the energy that sustains an important part of the country's electricity matrix. As part of working teams in environmental management at the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), I participated in environmental impact studies of electrical development projects in the Reventazon river basin. This was an opportunity to integrate knowledge and experiences to identify measures to avoid and mitigate impacts, as well as propose options for compensating residual impacts. The definition of an environmental flow based on a holistic methodology, which resulted in a change in the design of the project, and the development and execution of a compensation model, in which was defined the commitment to conserve the Parismina River, as a river without barriers, constitute two initiatives promoted by ICE that place this agency as a referent in the environmental management of the country.

Keywords: Costa Rica; corporate social responsibility; environmental impact; hydroelectricity; watershed.