Environmental sensitivity indexes to oil (hydrocarbon) spills at sea, Central Pacific of Costa Rica

Abstract

This article documents the application of the methodology of coastal environmental sensitivity indexes to a hydrocarbon spill, proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 2002), making an adjustment of the defined parameters, and thus, applying it to the coastal area of the Central Pacific of Costa Rica, in addition to making an approach and methodological proposal for its offshore zone taking into account the territorial sea, up to 12 nautical miles, calling them marine sensitivity indexes. These environmental sensitivity indexes (ISA) were proposed as a tool to respond to hydrocarbon spills, since all the places where oil activity exists, from extraction, transportation, loading and unloading in ports and docks, can have a large probability of generating environmental and socioeconomic damage, due to leaks in the areas where they are located by accidents, bad infrastructure or human errors. Specifically for the Central American region, there have been some oil spills in recent years, since the crude oil is manipulated, causing a detriment and affectation in the areas already mentioned. It should be noted that Central America currently lacks consolidated tools to identify the areas of greatest vulnerability to these accidents. It is for all this, that the present work was considered to elaborate coastal and marine ISAs, turning them into an online tool, which represents the base information for the development of a strategic plan, and with which it is intended to facilitate urgent decision making in the case of an eventual spill of hydrocarbons, minimizing the environmental and socioeconomic impacts.