NOTTINGHAM, 28-12-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — The evidence given by an expert in rivers from The University of Nottingham has been pivotal in a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on a centuries-old border dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Professor Colin R. Thorne from the University’s School of Geography was a key witness in a trial which settled a border dispute between the Central American nations of Costa Rica and Nicaragua that has festered, and periodically flared into armed conflict, since 1858.
This dispute had previously defied the best efforts of third parties, including US President Grover Cleveland and US Army Engineer General Alexander, to find a solution.
A complex history
The dispute centred on a small patch of wetlands on the Rio San Juan river. In framing their arguments, the legal teams of both countries called on internationally-renowned river experts from globally-leading universities to help them and the judges unravel the complex history of changes in the physical geography of the largest river in Central America.
Nicaragua selected a professor at the University of California, Berkeley Campus as its lead expert, while Costa Rica chose Professor Thorne.
Professor Thorne said: “Events that provoked Costa Rica to open a case against Nicaragua in the ICJ were not disputed. In October 2010, Nicaragua excavated a canal linking the Rio San Juan – which is under Nicaragua’s sovereignty, with a coastal waterbody called the Harbor Head Lagoon, which is also Nicaraguan territory. The dispute focused on whether that canal ran through Costa Rican territory or not.
International law
“To back up its dredging engineers, Nicaragua deployed not only units of its army but also members of the Sandinista Youth. Costa Rican Conservation Rangers in the area, which is designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, were powerless to evict the Nicaraguan Army, even when supported by police officers – Costa Rica disbanded its army in 1947, re-allocating funding to education and conservation. Under the circumstances, Costa Rica’s only recourse was to rely on International Law as adjudicated by the UN-backed ICJ.”
The effect of diverting part of the flow in the Rio San Juan through the canal was to cut off about 3 km2 of Costa Rican territory and incorporate it into Nicaragua. Cutting the Old Growth forest to clear a path for the canal involved felling hundreds of ancient trees and disturbing rare wetland habitat occupied by multiple endangered species.
Professor Thorne stood as an expert witness in the trial, during which he drew upon consultancy work undertaken through Nottingham University Consultants that involved studying the history of the San Juan River and the impacts of Nicaragua’s engineering works on the hydrology, morphology and ecology of the river and its wetlands. His primary aim was to establish whether, as Nicaragua claimed, their engineers had cleaned a pre-existing branch of the river that had become clogged with silt and vegetation, rather than digging an artificial canal, as Costa Rica contended.
Clear ruling
Professor Thorne’s evidence, delivered in written reports, and tested under cross-examination by lead counsel for Nicaragua Mr Paul Reichler, established that no branch of the Rio San Juan had existed at the location of the new canal for over a century.
In their ruling the Court cited Professor Thorne’s expert evidence, drawing on five of his main conclusions in refuting arguments put forward by Nicaragua. The judges also ruled that in clearing wetland forest to make way for their canal, Nicaragua had caused substantive damage to wetlands in Costa Rican territory and ordered Nicaragua to compensate Costa Rica accordingly. The amount of compensation is yet to be agreed.
Professor Thorne added: “Decisions of the International Court of Justice are binding and there can be no appeal. Thus, the ICJ’s ruling yesterday finally resolves a dispute that has persisted for 157 years.”
— Ends —
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Research Project of the Year’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2014. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for three years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Story credits
More information is available from Professor Collin Thorne, the School of Geography at The University of Nottingham at colin.thorne@nottingham.ac.uk
Charlotte Anscombe – Media Relations & Campaign Manager
Email: charlotte.anscombe@nottingham.ac.uk
Phone:+44 (0)115 74 84 417
Location: University Park
News and Media – Marketing, Communications and Recruitment
The University of Nottingham
C Floor, Pope Building (Room C4)
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD
telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5765
email: communications@nottingham.ac.uk
SOURCE: The University of Nottingham
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