Who we are

Since then, our organization has helped and supported Corcovado National Park and the entire Osa Conservation Area. In order to achieve this, the foundation established an agreement with the Ministry of Environment (MINAE). This agreement permitted the foundation to hire park rangers with private funding and put them to work in the park system.

At that point the foundation hired two park rangers and one forestry engineer. The park rangers were very aggressive in controlling hunting and illegal logging. At the same time our forestry engineer was very successful in detecting illegal logging permits. Thanks to these efforts, the logging permits decreased from 132 to 16.

In the last four years the Corcovado Foundation has successfully managed more than 30 programs and projects for the Osa. With this funding we have been able to pay for operating expenses for the national park. Fuel, food and equipment has also been purchased for the park. Eight park rangers, a forestry engineer and two environmental educators were hired full time for the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA) for two years.

Starting March 2005, the Moore Foundation-Nature Conservancy Project donated enough founding to pay for 67 employees for ACOSA, amongst which we have 53 new park rangers.

Currently the Corcovado Foundation keeps a payroll of 62 park rangers, 2 environmental lawyers, one forestry engineer, and two environmental educators amongst others, to add up to 79 employees hired for the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA), which correspond to a 50% of the total staff of ACOSA.

The foundation participated actively in the creation of the Osa Biological Corridor Technical Coalition (CTCBO) and is an active member of it, together with other important organizations that work in the Osa: including the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Neotropica Foundation, the National Institute of Biodiversity (INBIO) and the Environmental Law Center (CEDARENA).

Through the CTCBO project, the Corcovado Foundation funded and leaded the program called Community Environmental Protection Committees Strengthening Project. These committees are constituted by people from the local communities who commit time to help protect the environment. This funding was invested in helping the committees get organized, trained and equipped.

The foundation also helped create The Jaguars youth group. These kids have received environmental education and are now actively participating in the protection of the natural resources of their community. 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 their solid waste.

Recently we have become aware of the need to increase our role with the private sector in order to meet current, and future financial needs in the Osa Peninsula . Tourism industry is an important partner for conservation. Therefore, we are promoting best practices for sustainable tourism amongst the hotels and tourism businesses of the Osa.

This economical activity produces considerable amounts of waste, can impact on the local culture, competes for space with natural habitats and natural resources and its presence can affect the fauna and flora.

Regarding the waste management, hotels have major possibilities of undertaking actions in solid waste management. At Drake Bay, the issue of garbage has been a perpetual concern for the inhabitants. Up until today, lacking a collecting system makes that the handling of the waste is done as improperly as it could be: trash is burnt or buried.

Both procedures cause great damage to the environment, especially the burning. The gases released are carcinogenic. On the other hand, the rain can wash buried materials away, carrying it over to rivers and shores, ending at the ocean. To reach an efficient solid waste management, two steps are mandatory: diminish the amount of garbage produced, by recycling the trash and responsibly handling the waste that cannot be processed in a landfill in Drake Bay.

At this point the Corcovado Foundation has already built a collecting center for recycling materials in Sierpe, which will help to launch the recycling program in Drake Bay. The high school in Sierpe is in charge of receiving the materials and selling them to the different recycling companies. The profits are used to pay for the Sierpe High School expenses.

Also, the Corcovado Foundation has been having discussions and workshops with hoteliers in the communities about how and what to recycle in Drake Bay.

The Corcovado Foundation has been staffed with two professionals with extensive experience in sustainable tourism practices for hotels and other tourism related companies.

Fields of Focus