Osa Peninsula

Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula is a wildlife paradise. Called "the most biologically intense place on earth" by National Geographic, this remote area is home to thousands of species of plants and animals including jaguars, scarlet macaws, monkeys, and three species of sea turtles. Roughly 2/3rds of the peninsula is under some form of protection, including Corcovado National Park which is considered by many to be the crown jewel of the country's protected areas.

Four species of sea turtles nest on the peninsula: olive ridleys, green turtles, hawksbill turtles, and leatherbacks. Olive ridleys are the most common turtle found on nesting beaches on the Osa, accounting for the heavy majority of nests. A small population of hawksbills live in the Golfo Dulce, between the Osa and the mainland. We support the efforts of two Costa Rican organizations here, Osa Conservation and the WIDECAST Costa Rica Program.

Osa Conservation

Osa Conservation works in partnership with the Costa Rican National Park Service to monitor and protect the turtles nesting on 18 km of beach from Matapalo to Carate. This stretch of beach is one of the country's most important nesting areas for olive ridley turtles. Their goal is to "guarantee the health and ecological success of the sea turtles nesting on the Osa Peninsula" by integrating conservation, research, and educational outreach.  

SEE Turtles has supported their work by providing funding for their annual sea turtle festival, connecting volunteers with their research program, and promoting their activities to travelers and tour operators.

WIDECAST Costa Rica

In 2010, WIDECAST initiated a new research program to study the critically endangered Eastern Pacific hawksbill turtles in the Golfo Dulce, as well as black turtles, a sub-species of green turtles.  Researchers catch the turtles in the Gulf and bring them back to the research station to collect data and release.  This population of turtles is among the most endangered in the world, help us fund their conservation here. 

SEE Turtles is supporting WIDECAST's through volunteer recruiting, organizing tour groups to participate in the research, and providing donations.