Settling a five-year-long land dispute, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled on Dec. 16 that Costa Rica has sovereignty over disputed territory along the country’s border with Nicaragua. While the court ruled in Costa Rica’s favor, it denied claims each country filed against the other over alleged environmental damage. At issue was a small piece of land on the two countries’ eastern border that forms part of a larger triangular area of wetlands bounded by the San Juan River to the north, the Atlantic Ocean on the east and a canal on the west. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, known as the Ramsar Convention, incorporated these wetlands in 1996, obligating Costa Rica and Nicaragua to preserve them. The... [Log in to read more]