René Castro Salazar (born 25 August 1957), was

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

's Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department Assistant-Director General and a former

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

n politician. Castro was appointed Assistant Director General (ADG) of Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department by FAO Director General

José Graziano da Silva José Graziano da Silva (born November 17, 1949) is a Brazilian American agronomist and writer. As a scholar, he has authored several books about the problems of agriculture in Brazil. Between 2003 and 2004, Graziano served in the Luiz Inácio L ...

in 2017, after serving one year as Forestry ADG. Formerly, he served under president-elect

Laura Chinchilla Laura Chinchilla Miranda (; born 28 March 1959) is a Costa Rican political scientist and politician who served as President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's ...

as Minister of Environment and Energy; position he had also held between 1994 and 1998. Castro held several other relevant governmental positions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 2010. He is a prominent academic with extensive international experience in the fields of

Climate Change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, and

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

Biography

Family and personal life

Son to René Castro Hernández and Giselle Salazar Jirón, an engineer and a teacher respectively, Castro grew up in

Liberia, Costa Rica Liberia () is a district and the largest city in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica, located northwest of the national capital, San José. Part of the Liberia canton, it is a major center for the country's tourism industry. Liberia has bee ...

before moving to

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...

to continue his studies. On 12 August 1981 he married Sarah Cordero Pinchansky with whom he has two children, Raquel and René.

Education

Castro holds Doctoral and master's degrees from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, with an emphasis on Natural Resource Economics and Sustainable Development. He also holds a degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

from the

University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

International career

Public International Career

In 2017, after serving one year as Assistant Director-General of, the Director-General of the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates t ...

, Jose Graziano da Silva, appointed René Castro as Assistant Director-General of the newly created Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department. During his tenure as Forestry ADG, Castro advocated for a stronger fight against desertification and illegal timber trade, the recuperation of forest coverage, and their adequate monitoring. He promoted projects with the European Union to combat illegal timber trade, actively spoke in support of the relevance and need for adequate finance for Africas’ Green Wall. At the same time he strongly promoted the transversal relevance of forests for the sustainable management of natural resources and as a strong

climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...

and adaptation measure. Under his supervision the FAO-Google partnership to usher a new era of environmental literacy for all developed a study, and subsequent publication, to identify the extent of forest in dryland biomes mapping an additional 9% of global forest cover that was originally unaccounted for; allowing for a more comprehensive estimation of global carbon sinks.

Private International Career

Castro has been an international consultant for the International Development Bank, the World Bank and various agencies of the United Nations. He has worked and presented conferences in over 60 countries; he has extensive experience in most Latin American countries, in the United States, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. He served as a private consultant offering direct advice to the Governments of Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Croatia and Montenegro, and Macedonia, mainly on issues related to Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

Political career

Castro Salazar has held numerous political posts in Costa Rica; he has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Environment and Energy, Deputy Minister of Interior, National Director of Transportation, President of the Municipal Council of San José. He has held various management positions in Costa Rican organizations and was head of the delegations of Costa Rica to the conventions of

Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and

Ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...

Minister of Environment and Energy

Castro was Minister of Environment and Energy during two periods during the administrations of

José María Figueres Olsen José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

(1994–1998) and Laura Chinchilla Miranda (2010-2014). During his first term, as Minister of Environment, Energy and Mines, he led the promulgation of the Organic Law of the Environment that transformed the ministry of MIRENEM to MINAE, other important laws approved are the forest law, the reform of Article 50 of the Political Constitution to include the

right to a healthy environment The right to a healthy environment or the right to a sustainable and healthy environment is a human right advocated by human rights organizations and environmental organizations to protect the ecological systems that provide human health. The ri ...

as a constitutional guarantee and the ratification of global conventions on biodiversity and climate change. Costa Rica led, together with Brazil and other member countries of the group called G77 + China, to include the mechanism for clean development in the Kyoto Protocol, which promoted the transfer of resources from developed countries to others. The main achievement was to consolidate the payment of forest services. This mechanism based on a tax on fossil fuels has allowed Costa Rica to go from an 8% annual rate of deforestation (one of the highest in the world), to grow again in its forest cover in net terms. The country went from 21% of the territory with forest cover in the early 80s to 52.3% by 2013. Another source of income was sales of bonds. Costa Rica and Norway made the first global transaction, processing 200,000 tons of for $2 million. The use of lead in fuels was eliminated, according to data from the Children's Hospital, which damaged young children, and it was found that by 1997, the blood lead level of Costa Rican children had dropped to levels below the World Organization health. The reduction of the sulfur content in diesel was initiated and the Central American standard of 500 parts per million was adopted. On 1 August 2011, Castro was appointed for a second term as Minister of Environment and Energy. On his first day in office, Castro issued a moratorium on

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods V ...

for the following three years. During his tenure he moved for a closure of zoos, and to keep animals uncaged, promoting more bioparks and recovery shelters. In his role, as well as in other professional activities, Castro has promoted the payment of environmental services in Costa Rica; he and made the first post Kyoto Protocol CO₂ transaction in the world. He was negotiator of the conversions of debt of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with Costa Rica and he advised several other countries in their respective negotiations. Under his management, reforms were pushed to move the telecommunications sector to the Ministry of Science and Technology and to expand MINAE's responsibility for blue policies. The Vice Ministry of Waters and Oceans was established and the expansion of the responsibilities of MINAE in oceans was promoted to all non-commercial biodiversity. Marine protected areas expanded and forest cover growth continued to 54% by the end of 2014. the Montreal Protocol recognized Costa Rica and the Ministry of Environment under Castro for protecting the Ozone layer and being the first country in its region to eliminate the use of methyl bromide for roses, strawberries and flowers. During this time, he was widely criticized for defending the construction of a $1.500 million refinery for the Costa Rican National Oil Refinery Company (RECOPE) together with the Chinese contractor CNPCI. This project was suspended by the General Comptroller of the Republic due to inconsistencies in the rentability and feasibility studies (developed during the previous government). The developments provoked the exit of the at the time president of the Costa Rican National Oil Refinery (RECOPE) Jorge Villalobos. On the other hand, Castro requested a complete set of studies from the Costa Rican public universities to ensure transparency and thorough review of the proposal.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

On 2 March 2010, president-elect Laura Chinchilla informed the media that Castro would serve as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and Worship from 8 May 2010 (inauguration day). He remained in that position until 1 August 2011. He served in that position from inauguration day (8 May), replacing Bruno Stagno Ugarte. He was replaced in this position on 1 August 2011 by Enrique Castillo, former ambassador to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

. This change happened during criticisms of his work handling the conflict of land dispute with Nicaragua by initially approving the work of the Nicaraguan government. For this issue were Castro lacked experience for handling the situation. During his term, embassies were opened and official visits were made to

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Diplomatic representations were reopened in countries such as Bolivia, Jamaica and Paraguay that had ceased operations. The strategy for the defense of Costa Rican sovereignty was led as a peaceful and unarmed one, using only the instruments of international law such as the OAS, the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Security Council. As consecutive steps and in elevation. Castro was summoned by the Legislative Fraction of the

Citizens' Action Party (Costa Rica) The Citizens' Action Party (; commonly abbreviated as PAC) is a political party in Costa Rica. Its platform is based on encouraging citizen participation and involvement in politics. One of its guiding ideals is to fight against corruption, argui ...

, which reproached him for allegedly making appointments in the foreign service based on political criteria and not on professional suitability. The then Chancellor held accounts for more than four hours in the Legislative Assembly, where he clarified and answered all the questions raised by the legislators of all the political fractions represented. The executive summary of this appearance can be consulted at the following link: and the complete record "ACTA No. 36" of Thursday, 30 June 2011. On 19 December 2011, the Attorney General's Office forwarded the AEP-AR-009-2011 report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating there were no irregularities in the professional appointments during his tenure. Castro began negotiations for a

concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

. This was strongly criticized by observers who contended that it was a low priority. The previous concordat, which was abrogated during the nineteenth century, was signed in 1852. Thus, for the most part of its republican history, Costa Rica had not had a need of such a treaty with the Vatican. Critics pointed out that granting favourable treatment to the Catholic Church is inherently unfair and anti-democratic, given the large minority presence of other Christian denominations in

. Others stated that the committee representing Costa Rica in the Vatican negotiations included Hugo Barrantes, a Costa Rican bishop. It was argued that Barrantes' allegiance would lean towards the Vatican, and not the Costa Rican government, raising doubts about Castro's leadership concerning Costa Rica's foreign affairs.

Military invasion by the Nicaraguan Army to Calero Island

On 21 October 2010, the Nicaraguan Army invaded the Costa Rican territory of Isla Calero, an islet located in the north-eastern end of the country, initiating a new chapter of the conflict between

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. Castro's leadership at the head of the conflict has been defended and criticized. According to some critics, the policy of appeasement followed by Castro Salazar provoked an aggressive behaviour of the president of Nicaragua

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...

, who ordered to militarily take the territory in dispute. Castro has repeatedly responded to these criticisms in various national media. Under the direction of Foreign Minister Castro, a team of specialists in international law was formed, denouncing the invasion of

before the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

based in The Hague, obtaining a diplomatic victory in November 2013 when this court issued precautionary measures against Nicaragua, ordering the departure of civilians and soldiers who were illegally occupying the area within a period of no more than two weeks.

Other Political Activities

Campaign Leader Laura Chinchilla Miranda (2009 - 2010)

He was appointed chief of the pre-candidacy of then-vice president Laura Chinchilla Miranda and after winning the National Liberation Party primary election, he was appointed head of campaign for the 2010 elections. For the first time, the presidential campaign used a mix of intense social networks combined with the traditional structure of political parties.

Vice Minister of Government

In 1984 he was appointed deputy minister of governorate and police. The modernization of the rural guard began, including a regime of mutuality and protection, and the National Commission for the fight against illegal drug trafficking was organized. Castro has also been deputy minister of the Interior and Police, and President of San José City Council. He has also served as Secretary General of the National Liberation Party.

Council and Municipal President of San José

He was elected Council by the National Liberation Party; at the age of 25 he was appointed president of the Municipality of San José, within his proposals was the creation of the serene or municipal police.

Student Leader

He was elected president of the Federation of Students of the University of Costa Rica in 1978, defeating a coalition of groups of the Costa Rican left.

Academic career

After more than 15 years of working at the Central American Institute of Business Administration (

INCAE INCAE Business School (an acronym for ''Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas'', English: Central American Institute of Business Administration") is an international business school located at the Walter Kissling Gam campus in ...

), he reached the academic degree of "Full Professor" in 2009. He has authored or co-authored four books aimed at academia, in areas such as Project Evaluation, Environment, and Sustainable Development. He has co-authored publications for Yale and Oxford University on Climate Change, and Global Public Goods. He has been invited professor and lecturer at the universities of Harvard, Yale and Columbia in the United States, in the Polytechnic of Valencia, of Zaragoza in Spain; the Zurich Technological Institute (ETH) in Switzerland; the London School of Economics, in England, and at The University of Tokyo and United Nations University, in Japan; as well as in other academic centres in Asia. He has taught classes regularly in schools and engineering institutions in Central America organized within the REDICA Network since 2003.

Social media

Castro has two official public profiles on social media with content mostly in Spanish and English
René Castro Facebook Page
and the Twitter accoun
@RenecastroCR

Publications

* "The extent of forest in dryland biomes" Science 12 May 2017: Vol. 356, Issue 6338, pp. 635–638 * "Eco-Competitiveness and Eco-Efficiency: Carbon Neutrality in Latin America." Policy Brief, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, November 2015. * Agriculture, forestry and other land-use in the climate negotiations: a Latin American perspective, Working Papers N°17/2014. IDDRI, 2014 * Tropical forests and the emerging market, Forest Systems, Vol 10 No 3, 2001 * "Evaluación de Proyectos Ambientales" * "Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental y Sostenibilidad del Desarrollo" * "Valoración de los servicios ambientales del Bosque: El Caso de Cambio Climático"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Rene Living people 1957 births Costa Rican officials of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization officials National Liberation Party (Costa Rica) politicians Government ministers of Costa Rica Harvard Kennedy School alumni Sustainability advocates Environmental economists Ministers of foreign affairs of Costa Rica