New Biodiversity Center Opens in Osa Peninsula

Researchers, conservationists and students of the OsaPeninsula have a new tool at hand: the OsaBiodiversityCenter. Located on 800 acres of land on the OsaPeninsula, which juts into the Pacific Ocean from Costa Rica’s southern coast, the biodiversity center offers housing and a kitchen for groups who wish to visit the area, as well as a laboratory and library for researchers.

“It’s a base of operations for scientific research and also a center for education and training, from local schoolchildren to  local and visiting high school groups to university courses and training workshops,” said Trond Larsen, the science director for the environmental organization Friends of The Osa, which launched the center. “The mission is the conservation of biodiversity.”

The center officially opened this month, and this week was hosting a group of five graduate students from PrincetonUniversity and their professor as part of an ecology field course, Larsen said.

The conservationist added that the center would feature more groups and workshops in the coming months, including a workshop on “camera trap sampling of mammals, especially jaguars and other cats,” that would include mostly Costa Rican and Nicaraguan participants.

“We are especially promoting working with Costa Ricans and supporting Costa Rican students who work here,” Larsen explained.