conservation.Corcovado Foundation,a non-profit organization,joined conservation effort on Costa Rica

The Ministry of Environment in the Osa Conservation Area established as one of their main priorities the nomination of Corcovado National Park and Caño Island Biological Reserve as a "World Heritage Site" with UNESCO (United Nations). The natural areas designated as a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO have physical beauty and scientific importance of great universal value and due to this fact are considered patrimony of the world. This status will help draw the attention and funding necessary to protect Corcovado for future generations

Corcovado Foundation, financed by the CR-USA Foundation and the University of Florida , was in charge of coordinating the presentation of the proposal for nominating these protected areas. The University of Costa Rica and the University of Florida have helped us in this study. This effort is of great importance because it will place the National Park on the International map of conservation. This document was finally sent to the UNESCO in January 2003 and its content and the feasibility of the nomination will be studied by the UNESCO. This process normally takes around one year and will hopefully conclude with the inclusion of Corcovado National Park and Caño Island Biological Reserve in the list of World Heritage Site in June 2004.

The Corcovado Foundation is leading a process for participatory consultation at the local level, in order to submit to UNESCO the proposal document for nomination. This project intends to submit a complete application in order to receive the declaration of the Osa Conservation Area as "Reserve of the Biosphere" by the UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program. This requires a great deal of information, the identification of support groups within the community and the active participation of the communities involved. The main idea is to create full comprehension of the benefits of the nomination and get full support from the local communities.

The UNESCO's "Reserves of the Biosphere" are geographical areas where besides establishing as the main condition the conservation of the areas biodiversity and ecological investigation, that there is also sustainable development initiatives that contribute to the acknowledgement and appreciation of the traditional culture, conservation zoning, the creation of biological corridors and the reinforcement of the communities participation are also involved. Biosphere reserves have multiple functions - conservation, sustainable development, research and monitoring, training and education - and, as a member of the World Network, have a responsibility for international co-operation in these fields.

Funded by UNDP and CR-USA Foundation

The Natural Resources Vigilance Committees are volunteer organizations that exist all over the country and are governed by the Ministry of Environment. Their purpose is to collaborate in the elimination of illegal hunting and deforestation. These committees, known as COVIRENAS, can be of great support for the Ministry of Environment Protection Program and can be a great incentive for people from the community who want to protect their natural surroundings.

This project is reorganizing and strengthening the committees and providing them with equipment and proper training. The Corcovado Foundation has started a process to educate and empower the communities all over the Osa, by the means of these committees of highly motivated and dedicated people. To assist them and with the help of the United Nations Program of Development and the CR-USA Foundation the foundation has been able to buy equipment, radios and supplies for these groups. These groups have been very committed to watch over the proper behavior of their neighbors. Consequently, we have also been able to support them by providing them with the resources necessary to follow up environmental lawsuits against illegal activities in the Osa.

The Corcovado Foundation funded by AVINA (a Swiss Environmental Organization) has implemented an environmental education program for the young people in the local communities. Weekly workshops and a couple of field trips have helped to educate the children about the importance of protecting their environment.

The boys and girls from ages starting at 12 up to 20 years have been participating in activities such as beach clean-ups and recycling efforts. They have also started visiting their neighbors with brochures about how to recycle and better manage of solid waste. The children have also been patrolling beaches to save the sea turtles nesting sites, as they are becoming the stewards of their own natural heritage.

Lately, ten of these kids have engaged into their open water training. This will enable them to explore the underwater world and become more aware of the fragility of it. Also, we are planning to combine this effort with the Reef Check Project. This project will provide of training to the kids, so that they will be able to monitor and measure the health of the living reefs.

Coordination and fundraising a challenge for the Corcovado Foundation at the Osa Corridor Project

The consolidation of the Osa Biological Corridor has been carried out under the supervision of a commission comprised of representatives of local, national, and international conservation organizations active on the peninsula, as well as representatives of ACOSA. The formation of an interinstitutional commission to oversee the implementation of the corridor project responds to the following:
1) there are a number of organizations with a strong history of work and interest in conservation efforts on the Osa Peninsula, bringing a wide range of experience, information, skills and contacts;

2) the local community must be represented in these efforts through its organizations; and

3) other successful regional biological corridor projects in Costa Rica are organized along the same lines, and the project intends to work closely with and learn from these initiatives. This commission is presently comprised of members of ACOSA, the TUVA Foundation, the Neotropica Foundation, the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (InBIO) The Nature Conservancy, the Environmnetal and Nat Centro de Derecho Ambiental y de los Recursos Naturales (CEDARENA) and the Corcovado Foundation.

The Corcovado Foundation supports the coalition by dedicating the time of one of our team members to do fundraising for the group and write proposal and organize the individual efforts into the common set goal. (read more The Osa Biological Corridor Coalition )

T he Corcovado Foundation has signed an agreement with ACOSA in order to assist with certain expenses in the operation of Corcovado National Park . With the help of individual donors and some other environmental organizations, the Corcovado Foundation has started paying the salaries, providing uniforms, equipment, and transportation for eight full-time park rangers to patrol and protect the surrounding forest and also a forestry engineer who has helped us detect anomalies in logging permits.

D ue to budget shortages, work such as clearing the boundaries of the national parks and regular patrolling has not been done, as it should have in the recent years. Yet these efforts are absolutely essential to ensure the integrity of these areas.

W ith financial assistance from the Costa Rica-United States of America Foundation (CR-USA), Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and Verein Regenwald der Oesterreicher, among other organizations, the Foundation has finished work to clear and post the northern boundaries of Corcovado National Park and the Guaymí de Osa Indigenous Reserve.

T he Corcovado Foundation, with help of the Nature Conservancy, is also paying for environmental instruction for park rangers, buying equipment and supplies to help them be more efficient, and has strengthened the park system by hiring more rangers.

The combination of efforts of MINAE, the communities, the Non Governmental Organizations and the financial support of donors, which primarily have been the fuel behind these efforts, are very encouraging. The achievements obtained are the combination of all these factors working together.

For the first time, in many years the MINAE have led an educational program in the Peninsula , the amount of citations and patrols made during this year doubled from the previous years and the presence of the park rangers among the communities has increased. The impact of this achievement is a newly regained control over the protected areas.