Formed in December 1999, Acción de Lucha Anti-Petrola (ADELA) is a Costa Rican grassroots environmental group created to oppose offshore oil exploration and drilling.
[4] The various groups came together to form ADELA after becoming aware of the negative environmental impact of seismic reflection explorations being conducted by Harken Costa Rica Holdings in November 1999.
[8] ADLEA was largely successful in its efforts, and managed to stage protests, voice their opinions over the radio, and even bring lawsuits in the Costa Rican national court.
[8] After recognizing that their message was not reaching the United States, home of the oil companies seeking to drill off the Costa Rican shoreline, ADELA contacted the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in early 2001.
[9] ADELA's cause received international exposure when the NDRC included the Talamanca tropical forest region in southern Costa Rica, in its BioGems initiative.
[8] Talamanca is also home to three indigenous community reserves, the Cahuita National Park, and a UN-designated wetlands site at the Jairo Mora Sandoval Gandoca-Manzanillo Mixed Wildlife Refuge.
[11] Oil pollution would also significantly impact the coastal communities and local economic infrastructure, as it would likely result in hundreds of fishing jobs being lost and a decrease in eco-tourism.
[4] The Court's ruling was based on International Labor Organization Convention 169, "Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries," to which Costa Rica is bound.