Amos Bien – The Man Responsible for Eco-Tourism in Costa Rica
[February 2, 1951 – November 19, 2017] Amos Bien may have been born in New York City, but his heart seems to have come alive in Costa Rica. This love affair began as a graduate student working on his thesis back in 1979, and the relationship grew over the four decades while finding ways to […]
Rara Avis-Impact On Rainforest Conservation
As one of the first ecolodges to have been created in the world, the Rara Avis project started back in 1983. Founded by Amos Bien, his inspiration to create this private rainforest reserve came from his experience working at a biological station in the Sarapiqui region of Costa Rica (1). It was here he would […]
The Extinction of the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyia) in Costa Rica
As stated in early Greek mythology, the conquistadors settlers saw the harpy as a “frightful, flying creature with hooked beak and claws.” For many tribes deep in the rainforest, the harpy is believed to be an embodiment of tribal chiefs, a symbol of willingness and bravery. Fact File Habitat: Harpy Eagles inhabit an extensive range of areas, […]
The Extinction of the Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in Costa Rica
Distribution: The global distribution of the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is endemic throughout South and Central America, but absent from North America (1). They can be found inhabiting a diverse range of native habitats, including grasslands, savannas and both humid and dry forests. They also have shown a presence in agricultural landscapes, including pasturelands, managed forests, and sugarcane fields. […]
Ecological Diversity And Its Role In Nature
An introduction to the ecological hierarchy Populations Communities Ecosystem Biome Biosphere What is ecological diversity? Ecological diversity is the largest scale of biodiversity. On a global scale, ecological diversity would look into the variation in ecosystems such as deserts, grasslands, forests, oceans, and wetlands. Within each ecosystem, there is a great deal of both species […]
Top 5 Countries In The World For Conservation
USING MEGAFAUNA AS AN INDEX FOR SUCCESS: Megafauna (from Latin greek Megas ‘large’ and fauna ‘animal life’) comprises of the large or giant animals of an area. Megafauna has been used as a conservation index because they are particularly valuable in economic, ecological, and societal terms. Recent studies have indicated that 60% of the world’s […]
Failures In Rainforest Conservation Efforts We Must Learn From!
As the developing world intends to indefinitely increase, we are losing our natural forests in the tropics at a rapid rate. From Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand), Africa (Ivory Coast, Cameroon), and Latin America (Colombia) extensive deforestation has taken place and the forest loss rates vary significantly across these different countries (1).So why should we care? […]
The Role of Private Land Stewardship in Conservation
Near the middle of the last century, Costa Rica faced a deforestation crisis. Heavy agricultural and ranching practices reduced the country’s original 75% forest cover to only 26% (3). In the 1970s and 80’s the Costa Rican government took action to reduce and reverse the environmental destruction, growing the National Parks system and creating financial […]
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