Explore The Costa Rica Rainforest With Expert Scientists

What’s better than being in the rainforest? Being in the rainforest with expert scientists who can tell you fascinating stories about the animals and plants that live there.

Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica has invited celebrated U.S. scientists Howard Topoff, Ph.D. and Carol Simon, Ph.D. – both professors’ emeriti of The City University of New York and former Research Associates at the American Museum of Natural History – to be special guest lecturers at the award-winning Costa Rica eco-lodge from March 22 to 28, 2016.

The husband-and-wife team specializes in animal behavior, tropical ecology and evolutionary biology. For the past 30 years, Drs. Topoff and Simon have been study trip leaders for The Smithsonian Institute, The American Museum of Natural History, Naturalist Journeys, Elderhostel, and several cruise lines. This will be the third year that they will lead an educational travel program at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge. Dr. Topoff has spent over 40 years researching the social behavior of animals in Central and South America, Africa, and in the deserts and mountains of Arizona, USA. In addition to his publications in scientific journals, his popular articles have appeared in magazines such as National Geographic, Scientific American and Natural History.

His research has been featured on National Geographic Television and Scientific American Frontiers. Dr. Simon specializes in ecology, behavior and evolution, principally researching the social behavior of reptiles in North and Central America.   Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge offers a unique and exotic destination for the exciting six-night educational program. The flagship sustainable tourism eco-hotel in Costa Rica is located on 165 acres of private tropical rainforest preserve – accessible only by boat on the Pacific gulf of Golfo Dulce. The area is part of an immense biological corridor including the famous Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula and the Piedras Blancas National Park – some of the most biologically diverse places on Earth.

You will be surrounded by toucans, Scarlet Macaws, monkeys and other amazing wildlife in the lush Costa Rica rainforest and Pacific Ocean. With expert guides, you will spend your days exploring the surrounding forests for wildlife of all forms. In the evenings, Drs. Topoff and Simon will entertain you with fascinating multimedia presentations providing in-depth insights into what you have been seeing in the field.

Some of the interesting topics you will learn about include:

• Introduction to the Rainforest of Costa Rica
• Primates of the New World Tropics
• Venomous Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforest
• Butterflies of the Tropics
• Natural History of Rainforest Social Insects
• Bird Brains: Sensory Basis of Bird Behavior
• Animal Coloration
• The Evolution of Animal Communication
• Mating Strategies of Animals
• Introduction to Tropical Plants

Join Drs. Topoff and Simon in a week of exploration of tropical biodiversity at eco-friendly Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica from March 22 to 28, 2016. Check here for reservations in Nicuesa Lodge’s comfortable accommodations.

To get to Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge: drive or fly (Nature Air or Sansa Airlines) to either Puerto Jimenez or Golfito in southern Costa Rica. Nicuesa Lodge will pick you up by boat and transfer you to the lodge (about 30 minutes). Included in lodge rates are all meals and snacks, boat transfers, taxes, and unlimited use of rainforest hiking trails, kayaks, snorkeling and fishing equipment. Be sure to try their adventure and nature tours, and the beautiful yoga deck by the beach. Article by Shannon Farley

Activists seek to protect Costa Rica’s rich marine life.

The southern Pacific Ocean off the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica is an amazing natural wonder of marine biodiversity, home to more than 25 species of dolphins and whales, four of the world’s eight different sea turtles, along with manta rays, sailfish, marlin, tuna and sharks. The southern Pacific, and especially Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf) on the eastern side of the Osa Peninsula, are vital breeding and reproducing areas for endangered hammerhead sharks and migrating endangered Humpback Whales.

All of this extraordinary marine life, however, is almost entirely unprotected, except for small areas around a few national parks – the Ballena Marine National Park off the coast of Uvita, the Caño Island Biological Reserve, and off the coast of the Corcovado National Park.

Activists say the waters along the entire coast of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, need to be protected, and have begun a campaign to create a “Multiple Use Marine Protected Area.” The MPA for OSA group (Marine Protected Area for Osa Peninsula) states that Costa Rica’s marine life is threatened by commercial shrimp trawlers, long line fishing, over fishing, tuna nets, and ocean pollution.

“Commercial fishing techniques such as long lining, shrimping, gill netting and tuna fishing are wreaking havoc on this delicate and biologically diverse area and its marine inhabitants, and if urgent and drastic actions are not taken immediately, the world will lose this treasure forever. Costa Rica's dolphins, whales, sea turtles and other marine flora and fauna are being decimated at alarming rates,” declares the MPA for OSA website.

By declaring the southern Pacific Coastal waters, from the Ballena Marine National Park out to Caño Island and down the Osa Peninsula, a “Multiple Use Marine Protected Area,” the MPA for OSA group hopes that that private, commercial and sport fishing, as well as scientific research, tourism and marine transportation can all work together sustainably.

The MPA for OSA has created a petition on Avaaz to ask the Costa Rican government to fast track the establishment of the marine protected area. The group is calling for an immediate moratorium on commercial fishing in the area while details are worked out. The group also has a crowd funding campaign to source funds to continue their research and get local communities and the government to work together.

Costa Rica’s South Pacific is one of the “most biologically diverse ocean ecosystems in the world,” according to the MPA for OSA. Off the coast of Costa Rica is an immense habitat called the Costa Rican Thermal Convection Dome, where shallow warm waters lie on top of low-oxygen cold water creating a perfect ecosystem for diverse marine life. This dome is the only one in the world that is constant year-round, producing extraordinary ecologically-rich waters.

At Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, an environmentally sustainable eco-lodge on the inner coast of the Golfo Dulce, you can see and experience Costa Rica’s amazing marine life. The award-winning eco-lodge offers boat tours of the Gulf to see marine life such as dolphins, sea turtles and whales.

Located on a 165-acre private preserve backing up to the Piedras Blancas National Park, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is a unique adventure travel destination for its remote, pristine wilderness location. They offer family vacations, honeymoon trips, nature and adventure vacations, and yoga classes and retreats.

Article by Shannon Farley

What to do for nature and adventure vacations in Costa Rica.

Meet sloths, kinkajous, tayras, ocelots, peccaries and anteaters. Stand next to Scarlet Macaws feeding on almond trees. Watch white-faced monkeys swing and play next to you, and have your heart melt when a spider monkey comes to hold your hand.

This isn't some exotic zoo, but rather the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary on Golfo Dulce in the South Pacific of Costa Rica. The Costa Rica wildlife refuge helps orphaned and injured animals that are indigenous to this southern Pacific rainforest. Sadly, many of the animals are victims of illegal pet trade. 

Monkeys, wild cats, kinkajous, Scarlet Macaws and other prized creatures are captured as babies, and then abused or abandoned when their owners find they don't know how to deal with a wild animal. The Osa Wildlife Sanctuary works closely with the Costa Rica Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) to rescue illegally-held animals.

The sanctuary on the beautiful Golfo Dulce coast by the Piedras Blancas National Park was originally an eco-lodge started by owners Carol Patrick and Earl Crews. Carol got a reputation for tending to injured animals, and soon locals began dropping off orphaned and injured wildlife until there was no time for guests. The Osa Wildlife Sanctuary was then established in 1996.

At first primarily an avian sanctuary, after Poppy the spider monkey arrived in 2003, all sorts of wonderful critters started showing up. Carol and her staff try their best to rehabilitate animals to release back into the wild. For each animal that enters the refuge, a complex and often unconventional playground, specifically designed to mimic its natural habitat, is created for housing. Environmental enrichment features – like species-appropriate toys, imitation streams with cascading water, and tree branches –encourage natural behaviors and prevent boredom.

The Osa Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and relies on donations and tour fees to help with expenses like food, staffing, veterinary medical care, and supplies. Guided tours for visitors cost $25 per person and reservations must be made in advance.

The animal refuge is a popular eco-tour for guests at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, just 10 minutes away by boat down the Golfo Dulce coast. Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is an environmentally sensitive eco-lodge set on a 165-acre private preserve. 

The award-winning eco-lodge caters to travelers interested in ecotourism, nature and adventure. They offer family vacations, honeymoon trips, nature and adventure vacations, and yoga classes and retreats.

Article by Shannon Farley

Costa Rica accents sustainable businesses at PPP conference.

What makes a sustainable business "sustainable" and why should we care?

Here's a news flash for you – we all live on the same planet Earth. In many ways we humans, and all of the living and non-living things and elements that exist on our planet, are connected. The dust storms in Africa that cause cloudy, windy, dry weather in Central America; the earthquake in Asia that causes a nuclear reactor to leak radioactive material into the world's largest ocean, affecting the fish we're eating for dinner in America; the business decisions made in a powerful country's boardroom that affect working conditions in a poorer nation; slashing and burning rainforests so we can have more timber, or drill for oil, or simply farm for food, and unexpectedly the world's weather goes haywire … and on and on. These are just a few examples of our interconnectedness.

Operating a sustainable business means not only sustaining our own existence, but also ensuring that everything we involve and affect succeeds as well. This means not destroying the planet, or damaging people or society, in the pursuit of profit.

The United Nations defines sustainable development as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." At the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York in September, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that "we cannot accept a rising tide that floats only some boats and leaves many to drown." Ban Ki-moon called on world business leaders to do even more along with the United Nations to promote sustainable development worldwide.

 "Nobody can benefit from catastrophic climate change or rampant unemployment and the social unrest that comes with it," Ban Ki-moon said. "Prosperous, stable societies and a healthy planet are the bedrock of political stability, economic growth and flourishing new markets."

In today's increasingly competitive landscape, more and more companies are realizing that being sustainable is more than an environmental gesture – it makes long-term economic sense for cost savings, consumer demand, resource limitations, and brand reputation and publicity, to name a few.

Sustainable businesses in Costa Rica and internationally will take center stage at the upcoming Planet, People & Peace Ecotourism Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica. Organized by the Costa Rica National Chamber of Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism (CANAECO), the conference will convene national and international leaders to share strategies, practices and experiences to help make tourism and businesses sustainable.

The 4^th Planet, People & Peace (PPP or "P3") Ecotourism Conference will be held November 3-6 in San Jose at the National Auditorium at the Children's Museum, part of the Costa Rican Center of Science and Culture. Speakers and guests from 14 countries will meet to exchange ideas on the future of sustainable tourism and how to operate businesses in an environmentally responsible way.

Costa Rica has played an important role globally over the past decade in ecotourism and sustainable business. Many businesses in Costa Rica are already successfully incorporating sustainable practices, and will be on display during the PPP Conference.

Sustainable Tourism in Costa Rica

One of Costa Rica's outstanding examples of sustainable tourism is Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, an environmentally sensitive eco-lodge set on a 165-acre private preserve in the undeveloped Osa Peninsula/Golfo Dulce region of the country's South Pacific. The Playa Nicuesa Reserve borders the lush rainforest of the Piedras Blancas National Park, and fronts the pristine Pacific coastline of the Golfo Dulce.

Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge has received the highest rating for sustainability (Five Leaves) by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT). The lodge embraces conservation and harmony with the natural environment and caters to travelers interested in ecotourism, nature, adventure and sports. A member of the prestigious Enchanting Hotels of Costa Rica, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is affiliated with the Rainforest Alliance, the International Ecotourism Society, the Costa Rican National Chamber of Ecotourism, and Sustainable Travel International, among others.

Article by Shannon Farley