Strategic Actor: Pedro Garro
His full name is Pedro Vicente Garro Arroyo. He first arrived in Drake Bay in 1980 and moved there permanently two years later on September 2, 1982.
He currently serves as President of the Association for the Integral Development of Drake. He also serves as Treasurer for the Cantonal Union of Associations for the Integral Development of Osa and Treasurer for the Drake Bay ASADA (Associations for the Communal Management of Water and Sewer Systems).
The focus of his work is, to a large extent, land titling and management of land use in the region, which is an issue of great concern to the Maritime Mile, which is itself of the utmost importance for Drake. These cases are coordinated closely with the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly, as well as other institutions involved.
He is also involved with the local educational board, which is currently in the process of acquiring a piece of land that will allow them to expand their current infrastructure. He also works closely with the ASADA to improve the local aqueduct system.
Pedro got involved with the BID-Tourism Project because of the opportunity it represented. Unfortunately, the Municipality of the Osa Peninsula was unable to execute it and the initiative never happened. His perseverance has him constantly knocking on the Municipality’s doors to plead for the improvement of local roads and the construction of three main bridges that are fundamental to the Rincon de Osa-Drake Bay route.
He believes that the people of the region need better access to training opportunities that will allow them to tap into their potential. Among current landowners, the consensus points towards the need to establish a true land management system for the benefit of the local people. As it stands, land tenure has become an impediment for new projects and initiatives, a situation fueled by politicking within existing governmental agencies.
In his opinion, INOGO is becoming an essential partner for the Osa and Golfito region, given their ability to follow up on previous agreements and initiatives and their willingness to pay attention to people’s demands and offer practical and viable solutions to local concerns.