ASANA (Friends of Nature of the Pacific Lowlands of Costa Rica)

ASANA, a Costa Rican NGO, has been working on conservation and rural development issues in the region since 1987. Their main office is located within the Hacienda Baru Wildlife Refuge, which is a part of the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor. The Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor is an ambitious project that stretches 100 km along the Pacific coast from Corcovado National Park up to Manuel Antonio National Park and Los Santos Forest Reserve. Just as the fence line of trees joined isolated patches of forest together, The Path of the Tapir hopes to create a corridor of forest joining these National Parks and Reserves. Jaguar and Tapir no longer reside on Hacienda Barú but can still be found in Corcovado and Los Santos. The hope is that one day these animals pass through this land once again. The Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor initiative is run by local conservation organization ASANA.

They have been working in the following topics and some students may be interested in these:

Ecotourism

Environmental education

Watershed management and sustainable water management

Payment for Environmental Services

Biodiversity Monitoring (Flora and Fauna)

Rural Development

Non-Timber Forest Products

For more information on the program, visit ASANA's website at www.pasodeladanta.org or www.haciendabaru.com.

Email Cristian Valenciano, ASANA Manager, at cristian@pasodeladanta.org.