Research Statement

Dissertation Statement:
Effect of land use, political and socioeconomic factors on the conservation of wildlife in the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor and the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

The Osa Peninsula (160,000 ha) and the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor (80,000 ha) encompass more than 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity. At present, this biodiversity is at risk due to different socioeconomic and political factors in both regions. As part of my PhD dissertation, I am assessing how these factors may be limiting biological conservation. I am analyzing the positive and negative effects of landscape components (e.g., protected areas, ecotourism projects, residential areas, forested areas, pastures, agricultural and other human-dominated areas) on the presence of bird and mammal species in these two regions.

My preliminary assessment indicates that characteristics shared by both sites, like corruption and lack of resources in governmental organizations, may be affecting biodiversity conservation. But other factors that differ greatly between the sites are also relevant to conservation. In the Osa Peninsula land tenure seems to be a prominent issue: more than 70% of people (mostly Costa Ricans) do not have legal land tenure rights. In the Path of the Tapir, on the other hand, “ecotourism” projects and residential tourism are growing exponentially (many of them illegally). Most land belongs to wealthy foreigners who are cutting down the forests to build roads, summer houses, and hotels ultimately fragmenting the remaining forest cover.

Results of the present study such as bird and mammal surveys and its relationship with land-use types will be used by local organizations to determine some of the necessary steps to promote proper environmentally-friendly practices in the region. This study will provide maps (creating using GIS and Remote Sensing) where the users will identify priority areas for either restoration or rehabilitation of degraded lands and areas where biodiversity conservation is at risk. The analysis of limiting factors for wildlife conservation will be useful to determine further actions with different actors within the study area. I also anticipate that the results of this study can provide enough information so that governmental institutions and international NGOs realize the potential broader implication of the biological corridors’ conservation effort. For example, if the corridors do not provide connectivity for wildlife, most of the large endangered species in Corcovado National Park (eg. jaguars, pumas, tapirs) will become isolated and doomed to extinction.