Costa Rica marked World Biodiversity Day Friday with a national policy that aims to protect the country’s world famous wildlife and ecosystems. The policy rollout took place at the National Museum, where a small selection of the National Biodiversity Institute's (INBio) specimen collection was on display.
Native to parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, the cacay nut was long used by indigenous people to treat wounds and light lamps. As those uses faded, trees that reached 40 meters (130 feet) high became appealing targets for loggers. That's begun to change with the renewed appeal of natural oils as beauty treatments.
