Conservation Entrepreneurship

The Osa Peninsula embraces a vast diversity of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, habitats and species.  Osa is surrounded by major marine environments, including six Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and is critical for the reproduction and survival of several endangered and endemic species. These species include sea turtles (Pacific green, hawksbill and leatherback), marine mammals such as dolphins and humpback whales, and fishes like bull, white tip and whale sharks, sailfish, marlin, and swordfish.  In addition, Osa harbors abundant coral reef communities.

Despite its prominence as one the world’s most biodiverse areas, the coastal and marine ecosystems of the Osa Peninsula are critically threatened by a number of factors derived from tourism and a local population that has dramatically increased from 2,000 to 11,000 in the past 50 years.  These factors include: unplanned and increasing coastal tourism development, over-exploited fisheries, illegal fishing inside the protected areas, use of unsustainable fishing gear, coastal and marine pollution, and a severe lack of conservation awareness and viable economic opportunities in communities that depend on the ocean for their livelihoods.

To ensure the long-term conservation of these precious ecosystems and their endangered and threatened species, the MarViva Foundation, CRUSA/Amigos, and FINCA Costa Rica have designed Sustaining Marine Conservation through Entrepreneurship (SMCE), a project that offers economic alternatives to unsustainable fishing practices and encourages local entrepreneurs to start businesses whose success depends upon and motivates the continuation of conservation efforts.

SMCE focuses on capacity building, coaching, and local stakeholder engagement in economic activities that ensure that conservation becomes synonymous with both personal and community-level socioeconomic and environmental success.  These focused efforts, and the resulting success stories, will be central to a comprehensive 3-year effort to counter current economic trends and bring about environmentally viable and conservation-friendly businesses supported by local communities.

Please consider supporting SMCE by making an express donation and selecting the project from the drop-down menu or by visiting our gift store for project-related gifts.