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Protection of Biodiversity
The Osa Peninsula, in the Costa
Rican South Pacific, is a unique
place which, in only 160,000
hectares (some 395,355 acres),
encompasses 2 percent of the
world’s biodiversity and 50
percent of all the species in
Costa Rica.
Its forests are home to at least
5,000 species of plants, over
700 species of trees, more than
8,000 species of insects, and
117 of reptiles.
Also, there we find 375 species
of birds, 124 of mammals, 40 of
fresh water fish, and 28 species
of dolphins and whales. In order
to protect that wealth, the Osa
Campaign (Campaña Osa in
Spanish) was launched in 2003,
but it was not until now that
the project was made public.
It is a joint effort by the
Costa Rica-USA Foundation (CRUSA),
the Ministry of the Environment
and Energy, Conservancy
International, and The Nature
Conservancy.
The goal is to collect us$32.5
million, by the year 2008, to
manage conservation and
establish a trust. So far, us$19
million has been collected and
each Costa Rican is expected to
donate at least us$1, to add
another us$3.2 million in the
coming months.
Several major Costa Rican firms,
such as La Nación, Intel Costa
Rica, Tribu, Holtermann, and
Pipasa partake in the non-profit
campaign.
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