Conservation of the future

This business model is based on combining the set-up of a wildlife rescue- and breeding centre to contribute to the conservation of the environment with a strong emphasis on environmental education and scientific research. The isolated and unique status of the nearby national park (Manuel Antonio, the only remnant of tropical lowland moist forest left on the central Pacific coast), the large numbers of tourists in the area combined with the occurrence of animals in danger of extinction (e.g. squirrelmonkeys) make the development of such a project indispensable. Currently no such activities exist in the central Pacific coast.
Most visitors to Costa Rica come to enjoy the wild nature that is still to be found here and past experiences have taught that most of them are very interested in visiting projects concerning wildlife conservation. Offering visitors a guided tour at our project site gives them the opportunity to see many of the animals they will hardly encounter in the wild. During this tour, we can explain about their background, status in the wild, possible breeding programs undertaken in an effort to prevent extinction and the various difficulties seen when mass-tourism conflicts with conservation efforts in such a pristine environment. These tours will generate a stable income for our activities. The annual number of visitors to this region is very high (between 100.000-200.000) which means that getting a mere 5% of these tourists to visit the project would be enough to make the proposed activities profitable.
Releasing endangered animals that are bred at the centre in the forests belonging to the community will provide an extra stimulus for eco-minded tourists to visit these forests. By training people from this community to give these educational tours and to visit local primary schools for our environmental education program will not only provide them with a stable income but will also allow them to work towards saving their own environment, maintain their customs and in the same time stimulate environmental awareness in the children.

Customers will be informed about our activities through many different channels:
We have already established good contact with many of the 80 hotels in the area to secure a steady flow of visitors to the centre. Combined with interesting deals with the travel agencies, being mentioned in travelbooks and an attractive webpage will result in enough visitors to make the proposed activities profitable. Moreover, the local board of directors of the national park supports this initiative. Currently, no similar activities exist in this area so there is no real competition. Other centres concerned with conservation work in Costa Rica are well known to the initiator and have shown an interest to closely co-operate on many of the proposed topics. Most visitors to Costa Rica are interested in its nature and a visit to such a centre is a spectecular way to learn more about the immense variety in wildlife. Past experiences have shown that after a 2-year start-up phase, we can reach more than 30 people a day. Keeping former visitors informed about our activities through newsletters will result in many supporters from all over the world.
At the moment we have one Dutch business partner who helps us in an advisory and financial way. Besides the valuable help of this partner, we will work together in some of the proposed activities with different international organisations. On the part of scientific research, good contacts have been established with universities in The Netherlands as well as in Costa Rica to aid in the development of research projects and exchange possibilities for students. Some zoological gardens with experience in breeding endangered animals will help to start breeding programs. Contacts with international conservation organisations like WWF and the Nature Conservancy about the goals of this project were also very positive.
At this moment we are busy applying for financial support from different organisations to cover the costs for the start-up of this project. The financial requirements for the acquisition of the property on which the project will start and all the legal fees have already been taken care of by the inititiator.

This project will have various effects on the community (Naranjito) in which it will be set up. All of our employees (e.g. construction workers, handy man, cook, environmental educators, and tour guides) will come from this small community and ensure a stable income for 5 - 9 families within the first 2 years of operation. In the long term, we aim to expand our activities to include many more families and to start working closely together with other communities on a similar basis. For all the families involved, the quality of living standards will be improved as the basic salaries paid through our project are much higher ($300/month) than the basic salaries for farmers or people working in hotels (+/-$200/month.) Moreover, our activities will effect more people than those who will be employed as all the basic daily needs of the project will be purchased in this community. Especially for people who will work as tour guides and environmental educators, an extensive training program will be developed to improve specific knowledge and skills concerning this line of work. This will not only include biological courses and background information about our activities but also English classes.
Many of the farmers in this region have large farms, still with lots of undisturbed forest on its grounds. The use of these forests for the introduction of animals in danger of extinction, scientific research or guided tours for tourists will generate extra income for them, while at the same time the forests will be preserved for the next generation. Our educational visits to the local schools will stimulate many youngsters to appreciate the astonishing nature and get involved in conservation activities.
In time these effects will only grow stronger and stronger.
The idea stands out because it offers local people the opportunity to work and make a living in protecting and conserving the environment and by doing so, help their own community in the struggle to maintain its own customs and preserve its living space.