Friends of the Osa
An NGO dedicated to the conservation of biological diversity on the Osa Peninsula.
Los Charcos de Osa
The Center for Regional Plant Diversity. The home of regional plant experts Reinaldo Aguilar and Catherine V. Bainbridge, who are dedicated to the study, cultivation, and conservation of the plants of the Osa Peninsula. Los Charcos is a private forest reserve and a native plant garden which also offers rustic field research and tourist facilities. For further information contact Catherine Bainbridge.
The importance of ecotourism as a conservation and development tool in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
This study was conducted by the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), a policy-oriented research institute with offices at Stanford University and in Washington, DC. It is committed to using tourism as a tool for poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. Much of their work is focused on sustainable coastal tourism with an emphasis on Costa Rica.
Blog: Rain Forests Ameliorate Climate Change.
Old growth tropical forests sequester more carbon than do secondary forests because they are stratified and, thus, have more plants capturing carbon in photosynthesis than do non-stratified secondary forests. In addition, the wood of old growth trees is dense so it takes more carbon to produce the wood of trees in this forest type than it does to produce the less dense wood of trees in secondary forests. As a result, when logged old growth forest is replaced by secondary forest it will take several hundred years of carbon regeneration to sequester the amount of carbon that was released in the destruction of the original forest. In the short term, this will increase temperatures that could reach a point that the basis of life on earth, the process of photosynthesis, would no longer support the diverse array of plants and animals we know today.
Blog: How Climate Change Impacts the Extent of Tropical Forests
There have been 125,000 generations (a generation is equal to about 25 years in the United States) of humans since their appearance on earth; but most of the damage mankind has caused has taken place since the start of the Industrial Revolution, and that is less than 10 generations ago! Learn how human impact is changing the world’s climate and how this adversely impacts tropical forests.
Blog: Can Fees for Ecosystem Services Save Rain Forests?
Ecosystem services are the pro bono services provided by nature to mankind. Learn how paying for these services may help in the effort to protect rain forests.
Blog: Soybean Agriculture Threatens Biodiversity in Brazil.
The increasing world’s population has increased the market for soybeans. Learn about how this demand has lead to the replacement of savanna vegetation in central Brazil.
Blog: Tropical Forests Depend on Bats for Survival.
Learn why bats are so important for maintaining the biodiversity and structure of tropical forests.
Blog: Garden Scientist Weighs In on Rain Forest Debate.
Although secondary forests are important, they do not possess nearly as much biodiversity or provide nearly as many ecosystem services as do old growth forests. Learn about these two types of forests.