Our Origin Story

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For over two decades, Osa Conservation has been on the ground leading conservation efforts to protect the unparalleled biodiversity of Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, home to an astronomical level of Earth’s biodiversity on a land mass smaller than Los Angeles. 

Osa Conservation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States and Costa Rica, was born to ensure the biodiversity of this region thrives into perpetuity. Established in 2003, Osa Conservation is the brainchild of Dr. Adrian Forsyth and Manuel Ramirez, two renowned conservationists who sought to protect Osa’s ecosystems.

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We started small, a team of volunteers and researchers attempting to decrease sea turtle poaching on pristine beaches and monitor wildlife on the border of protected areas. Today, Osa Conservation is among the most impactful conservation NGOs in Latin America. Hand-in-hand with local communities, we are regrowing, reconnecting and rewilding the rainforest, restoring coastlines, protecting marine and terrestrial megafauna, and empowering the next generation of conservation leaders. Check out our annual reports below to learn more about our impact.

Today, Osa Conservation’s working landscape spans 2 million acres across southern Costa Rica, including over 8,600 acres of private wildlife refuge protected by the Osa Conservation Campus. The OC Campus protects old-growth, secondary and mangrove forest, over a dozen kilometers of pristine coastline, and the entire Piro watershed. Throughout our campus, we trial restoration techniques to streamline the regrowth of healthy forest systems for people and nature. (To learn more about restoration management and biodiversity conservation on our property, click here to read Cerro Osa, A 10-Year Case Study in Tropical Rainforest Conservation Management).

Since the beginning, Osa Conservation has prioritized scientific conservation; our efforts to protect this wild place are founded on science and continue to push the frontier of tropical knowledge. Learn more about the new discoveries from Osa Conservation, visiting researchers, and our collaborators in our digital library of published research. 

Join our mission to protect Osa’s biodiversity. Make a donation today and support Osa Conservation as we build a more sustainable future for people, wildlife and the planet.

Stay Informed About Osa Conservation's Work

Annual Reports & Financials

2025

We are proud to share that in 2025, our collective work achieved new heights. Our reach spanned more than two million acres, from the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean to the peaks of the Talamanca Mountains.

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2024

By scaling our efforts to reconnect habitats across the landscape, we are creating a stronger, more resilient future for people and nature. In 2024, we influenced over 2 million acres, directly engaged over 6,400 community members, and planted a quarter of a million trees.

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2023

In 2023, we planted over 107,000 native trees, engaged more than 4,800 local community members, and welcomed more visitors to the Osa Conservation Campus than ever before.

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2022

From implementing cutting-edge conservation technologies on the ground to establishing a coalition of local rainforest protectors, in 2022, Osa Conservation pushed the frontier of conservation impact and scientific knowledge.

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2021

From Ridge to Reef, we work hand-in-hand with local communities: enabling action from the ground up, planting rare and native trees to sequester carbon, rewilding degraded land, empowering local leaders, and equipping land-owners with everything needed to conserve natural resources and build sustainable agricultural systems so humans and wildlife can thrive.

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2020

This year brought unprecedented circumstances, but one thing is certain: conservation continues on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula thanks to the dedicated support of our local and international communities. Now more than ever, we must conserve Earth’s biodiversity and build strong human-wildlife connections.

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