Protecting biodiversity in Costa Rica

What’s it like to live and work in a jungle named the ‘most biologically intense place on earth’?

Packed with over 463 species of birds, more than 10,000 species of insects and thousands of plants, the Osa Peninsular is a wildlife lover’s dream! In this remote corner of Southern Costa Rica, you’ll find our Camp Osa, home from home for our Costa Rica expedition travellers and the base of our exciting wildlife conservation project.

We caught up with Camp Manager Juan to tell us more about our work in the Osa Peninsular and our partnership with Osa Conservation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting the globally significant biodiversity in this region.

What’s the aim of the project in Osa?

Our work with Osa Conservation includes creating a natural corridor in south Costa Rica. We monitor a section of this corridor and have established Camp Osa there so that our volunteers can come and be part of this fascinating long-term project.

What does the work involve?

The presence of Camps International in this portion of the corridor contributes to the collection of important data. Our volunteers are constantly installing trap cameras, taking part in wildlife identification and getting involved with the reforestation program. All the great work that our Camps International volunteers do and the information that they generate, goes into a wider system that helps to determine how healthy the forest remains within this corridor.

How is it making an impact?

Thanks to the data we collect, Osa Conservation can regularly talk with farm owners to include them in conservation efforts such as the reforestation and preservation of existing patches of forests. This is a great benefit and although our camp site is not located within a community, our presence in the corridor means we are also impacting the community in a positive way.

My favourite part of this project is recording the animals that return to the forest thanks to conservation efforts. Habitat loss is a serious threat to many wild species’ existence, specifically the mammals and felines that depend on large amounts of forest for their survival. I would love my kids and the future generation to be able to experience the rainforest in its full glory and realize that they too can continue with conservation that will pass on to the next generation.

What’s planned for the future?

This future of this conservation project requires a total of 1,534 hectares that will need to be reforested. For this, they will need 1,704,981 trees. With the technical assistance of Osa Conservation, Camps International will get involved to support this incredible reforestation effort.

A vital part of this project will be the work of our volunteers in the next couple of years. By welcoming groups from all over the world to partake in this sustainable project, we hope to make great progress towards our goals.

To find out more about Osa Conservation and the conservation work they do, check out their website. You can also check out our Instagram story highlights to see more of our project work from all around the globe.

When safe travel resumes, we can’t wait to welcome our volunteers back to Costa Rica and continue to make an impact to this vital conservation effort.