Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula

You can help protect one of the world's most beautiful and diverse habitats when you Adopt an Acre® today.

Day or night, the Osa Peninsula crawls with life. Howler monkeys greet the break of dawn with a thunderous roar while scarlet macaws wing over treetops as the sun begins its slow trek across the sky. Tapirs cool themselves from the hot midday sun in cool, sparkling rivers while poison-dart frogs hop in the nearby vegetation. At night, jaguars stalk moon-lit beaches looking for prey.

At Costa Rica's southwest corner, 400,000 forested acres of the Osa Peninsula jut into the Pacific Ocean. Only a strip of white sand beach separates the lush rainforest from the sea. The forest is alive with a wealth of magnificent plant and wildlife, including jaguar, puma, sloths and four species of monkey. You'll also find 4,000 plant species, including trees that can grow more than 200 feet tall.

A Threatened Paradise

Historically, the dense forests and rocky terrain of the Osa Peninsula shielded it from the outside world. But improved transportation and expanding development now threaten the peninsula. Osa's forests are starting to disappear as this once isolated land increasingly attracts farmers, hunters, developers, gold miners and tourists. Sadly, lands are being cleared for logging and agriculture at a higher rate than anywhere else in Costa Rica. Illegal logging, poaching and ill-conceived land-use activities further threaten the region.

How The Nature Conservancy Works on the Osa Peninsula

With the Costa Rican government and a strong network of partners, The Nature Conservancy is working to protect and maintain the Osa Peninsula’s forests and coastal areas. We are doing this in a variety of ways, such as:

• Acquiring and protecting land
• Strengthening the management of protected areas
• Hiring and training park staff
• Creating a 100,000 acre biological corridor between Corcovado and Piedras Blancas National Parks
• Creating sustainable, bush-based job opportunities
• Establishing a network of marine protected areas

How Can You Help Save Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula?

When you give today to the Adopt an Acre® program, you will help the Conservancy protect and restore one of the world's most extraordinary yet highly threatened regions. You can also call 1-800-84-ADOPT to donate.

With your $50 donation per acre to the Adopt an Acre® program, you will receive:

• Personalized certificate with signature photo of the Osa Peninsula commemorating your generosity
• Colorful fact sheet about the Osa Peninsula
• Adopt an Acre® Osa magnet set
• Four issues of Nature Conservancy magazine to keep you informed all year about the many places the Conservancy is working to protect. (Plus, we'll rush the current magazine issue along with your personalized certificate!)
• An invitation to create a personalized nature homepage on nature.org
• Great Places E-Newsletter subscription filled with local and global conservation updates, enviro-tips you can use and stunning nature photography.

Best of all, you'll get the satisfaction of knowing you're helping to protect this extraordinary wild habitat now and for future generations. Please Adopt an Acre today!

Give Adopt An Acre as a Gift

You can also give Adopt an Acre® as a gift. Your friend or loved one will adore this one-of-a-kind nature gift and enjoy it throughout the year. View all the benefits your gift recipient will receive.