Costa Rican ambassador visits Guernsey

Monday 28 October 2019

A world leader in climate change and reforestation could soon be partnering with Guernsey to improve our own environmental footprint.

The Costa Rican Ambassador to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Rafael Ortiz Fábrega, made his first official visit to Guernsey to discuss climate decarbonisation, green funds and our centuries-old history through Guernseyman William Le Lacheur.

Local merchant Mr Le Lacheur is a national hero in Costa Rica, featuring on bank notes and postal stamps, due to the part he played in launching direct trade in coffee between Costa Rica and Europe in the 1840s and assisting the Costa Rican Government in defending the country from attack in 1856. 

His Excellency Mr Fabrega hoped it would not be another 150+ years before Guernsey once again had a strong relationship with his country. 

"We have been speaking to many important political and economic people here and are searching for ways from this very important heritage we share to see how we can achieve possibilities of tying our countries together," he said. 

"We have identified seven/eight areas of strategic importance. And one of them, without any doubt, is climate change. In Costa Rica we are completely engaged in being a leader in matters related to climate change."

Pictured: Hanging Bridge in Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica.

The country's efforts have been widely acclaimed and they have received special status from the United Nations.

"We have a plan to achieve decarbonisation by 2050 and we are looking at ways, maybe with the green funds there are here, that we can finance some of these important programmes.

"First of all we have spoken to the people in charge of that here and we share those objectives.

"One of the strengths of Guernsey being a financial centre is they have green funds in supporting those initiatives which will definitely enable us to achieve that.

"So not only are there the resources but there are shared objectives and values to help that very ambitious goal of decarbonisation by 2050."

Mr Fabrega met Policy & Resources President Gavin St Pier, local businessman Marc Laine - who is setting up an environmental accreditation business - and several influential people from the local arts scene including Russ Fossey from the Arts Commission and David Ummels from Art For Guernsey. 

The Ambassador attended the opening of the exhibition ‘William Le Lacheur – the land he loved’, created by local artist Frances Lemmon, which is available for viewing at the Candie Museum until the end of the year. 

Pictured: Mr Fabrega discussed government priorities with Deputy Gavin St Pier. 

The story of William Le Lacheur is of greater notoriety in Costa Rica than here - but Policy & Resources President Gavin St Pier said Guernsey should embrace and build upon that shared history. 

“It was a privilege to meet the Costa Rican Ambassador, His Excellency Rafael Ortiz Fábrega, during his first official visit to the island - and indeed the first visit to the island by any Costa Rican Ambassador," he said. "Guernsey continues to work to develop its international identity and bilateral relations with jurisdictions across the globe. The relationship between us and Costa Rica through the work of William Le Lacheur provides a strong basis for us to develop and strengthen our historical links with Costa Rica.

“The story of William Le Lacheur is of cultural and historic significance and is perhaps less well known in Guernsey than it is in Costa Rica, but it is one which Guernsey should rightly be proud of. I look forward to continuing to work with the Embassy in the run up to Costa Rica’s bicentennial independence celebrations (in 2021) to ensure that we are able to build on these existing links.” 

Mr Fabrega concluded by saying now was the time to look forward to how they can build on those links. 

"One of the most glorious men from Guernsey played such an important part in our history that we owe to those people from those years to now identify what are the things we need to build upon and the strengths we have with each other," he said. 

"We have identified and spoken about things, now we must see how we can make them a reality."

Pictured top: Mr Fabrega and Deputy St Pier.