Osa Conservation Dialogues

Organisers began by holding face-to-face meetings in the Osa Penninsula itself (rather than the typical location, San Jose) with the representatives of the principal groups that carry out projects in the peninsula in order to determine the needs the different groups and local organisations have in terms of information and the types of work or projects currently underway in the region that are considered a priority. They coordinated very closely with representatives of the Technical Coalition for the Support of the Osa Biological Corridor (Coalición Técnica de Apoyo al Corredor Biológico de Osa) in order to define the topics, the needs, and the logistics of the event.

To facilitate participation in the dialogue, organisers coordinated local transportation, by means of taxis, in order to mobilise all the people invited, transporting them from selected points to Rincón de Osa, where the event took place. In total, 49 representatives of conservation organisations and local organisations signed the list of participants. An opportunity was created where the invited audience generated a dialogue with the speakers. The agenda was set up in 3 work sessions:

1. The first session included a brief introduction on the topic of ecotourism. This was coordinated in conjunction with the ANAI Foundation in order to have someone from the Talamanca Community Tourism Network (Red Talamanca de Turismo Comunitario) present. A representative of the San Miguel Conservation and Development Association (Asociación San Migueleña de Conservación y Desarrollo, or ASACODE) participated in the event to share their experiences with the Network and to talk about how their association's project, CASACODE Lodge (Albergue CASACODE) has been able to protect the environment while generating part of the necessary income for their members. This work session also included a presentation from a representative of the Sustainable Tourism Division of the Rainforest Alliance, who spoke about the need to achieve sustainable tourism and about the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council.
2. The second session began with a description of the "Osa Campaign", a project headed by 3 conservation organisations - the CRUSA Foundation, Conservation International, and the Nature Conservancy - with the intention of generating a fund to develop activities in the peninsula. This session continued with 2 presentations about land tenure problems and possible solutions. These talks were possible thanks to the efforts of the Center of Environmental Law and Natural Resources (Centro de Derecho Ambiental y de Recursos Naturales, or CEDARENA), an organisation whose projects include, among others, "Study of Land Tenure and the Conservation Strategy for Private Lands in the Core Area of the Osa Biological Corridor". A representative of the National System of Conservation Areas (Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservación, SINAC) of the Ministry of the Environmnet and Energy (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, or MINAE) of Puerto Jiménez in Osa also presented a panoramic view on the topic. At this session, a representative of the Agrarian Development Institute (Instituto de Desarrollo Agrario, or IDA) of Costa Rica was also present.
3. In the third session, which focused on forestry management and environmental services, there was an exchange of information generated by the experience developed in Hojancha of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, in terms of management and development of products of Melina (Gmelina arborea). The TUVA Foundation presented the results of the study "Extraction of Fallen Timber as a Sustainable Option". To conclude, the session featured the presentation of a representative of the National Fund for Forestry Financing (Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal, or FONAFIFO), who commented on the situation and advances in payments and certifications of environmental services in the peninsula.

The main ideas that emerged from the dialogues were placed online (see: an excerpt of the Osa Conservation Dialogues, in English [PDF] and in Spanish [PDF]) so that the entire conservation community may have access to them.

Environment, Natural Resource Management, Ecotourism.

Organisers explain that the Osa is a region of profound importance in terms of conservation. It reportedly has: great endemism, the only lowland tropical rainforest on the Pacific Coast of Central America, and approximately 50% of the species of flora and fauna of Costa Rica. It is also the home of human communities - usually of limited resources - who depend in one way or another on the natural resources for their livelihood.

Analysing the different presentations from the Osa Dialogues, organisers note that, for a conservation project to be successful, there must first be community organisation. Otherwise, there is no consensus and no clear path to take or goal to reach. It also became clear that a project on its own cannot provide all the income necessary to subsist; it must develop complementary activities.

The Osa Dialogues are only part of the work conducted by the Rainforest Alliance's Online Communities Initiative (formerly the Neotropics Communications programme), which aims to help non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other groups plan workshops that give hands-on training to design media and public outreach strategies. More information on this work is available on the Online Communities Initiative page on the Rainforest Alliance website.