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CEPA Foundation: Protecting Wildlife in Costa Rica

The Osa Peninsula located in part of both Golfito and Osa counties and is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. This megadiversity has led the region to receive immense attention from biologists, primatologists, as well as botanical collectors. However, the economic pressures of the region as well as the limited access to education and job opportunities has led many residents to regard the trees from an instrumentalist perspective. This has had, and continues to have, a significant impact on the ecosystem of the region. The main threats to the forest result from the complicated economic situation of the region and the lack of continuous and quality environmental education.

Fundación Saimiri is based in the south of Costa Rica, in a small village called Guadalupe de la Palma in the Osa Peninsula. Guadalupe de la Palma is situated 4 kilometres from the National Parc of Corcovado, and has a population of about 300 inhabitants. The Fundación Saimiri project: “Transforming pastures and secondary young forests in Biodiverse Forests” aims not only at planting trees in depleted habitats but as well as promoting the conservation of endangered trees in the Osa Peninsula through environmental education.

Fundacion Saimiri will provide an experiential and theoretical understanding of the low-land rainforest to residents of the Osa Peninsula by teaching individuals to identify the endangered trees as well as collaborate with farm owners to plant trees in their depleted young forests. This will enable the existing generations to think in a different way about their natural resources and provide protection of the trees in future generations.

Key objectives

The Osa Peninsula is the most significant wetland ecosystem and mangrove forest in Central America and is home to 323 endemic species of plants and vertebrates. In cooperation with the on-site organization Fundación Saimiri, we help to protect the biodiversity of the region and improve sustainability practices. 

  • Close collaboration with local communities to increase their productivity and awareness of environmental risks related to climate change.
  • Commitment to biodiversity restoration - species selection is based on criteria of current and potential value for the rainforest ecosystem.
  • Monitoring of results - We have a long-term commitment to the areas that we retain, we have been living in the community for more than 15 years and our organization is celebrating 10 years this 2020.

CEPA donated 5,000 Euro to the
Saimiri Foundation which enabled them to:

  • Acquire building materials such as metal for bedding, sprinklers, roof, biodegradable bags, metal labelers, shovel, machete, rubber boots, etc. for improvement of the tree nursery (3,000 tree capacity)
  • Contract a local worker for collecting the seeds of endangered trees, giving maintenance and start planting the first 1,000 trees
  • Employ a Botanist to maintain the tree nursery (3,000 trees)
  • Integrate a Geographic Information System (to locate each of the 1,000 trees)