Where is the Rainforest of the Austrians?

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Costa Rica, with an area of 54.000 km2, is a bit larger than Switzerland or West Virginia and is situated on the narrowest part of the American continent between Nicaragua in the north and Panama in the south. The Esquinas rainforest is in the so-called "Osa Biological Corridor" in the southwestern part of Costa Rica. The geographic coordinates are between 8o27' und 8o41' N and 83o15' und 83o45' W.  The corridor around Golfo Dulce, one of only three large tropical fjords worldwide, connects Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula with Piedras Blancas National Park and Golfito Wildlife Refuge. The whole protected area covers around 800 km2 or 300 square miles. National Geographic Magazine has called Osa  "the most biologically intense place on earth".  

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The total area of the Esquinas forest is approx. 15,900 hectares, of which 11,258 hectares (71.5%) had been purchased and incorporated into Piedras Blancas National Park by 2010.  Average prices per hectare have increased seven-fold from 1992 until today. In 2010, property within the park border cost 1.6-1.8 million Costa Rican colones per hectare (approx. $3,000). Official evaluations are made by the Costa Rican "Ministerio de Hacienda". Land owners are permitted to have their property re-evaluated every three years to adjust to inflation and exchange rates. Properties on the coast or on the border of the park are more expensive than properties in the center of the forest due to easier accessibility. If they contain houses, fences, pastureland or corrals, these have to be purchased along with the land. Rainforest of the Austrians purchased 3.949 hectares within the park border since 1992 (plus 159 hectares outside the park for reforestation,  Zoo Ave Release Station and La Gamba Biological Station). Other purchases until the end of 2007: ECOLAND-Tenaska (joint implementation CO2 project) 2.124 ha, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 817 ha, Republic of Costa Rica (MINAE) 4.451 ha. 

Land purchased by Rainforest of the Austrians since 1992

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All land purchases since 1992

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Legend from top to bottom: Parkborder, Mangrove, purchased by Rainforest of the Austrians (dark green), other purchases (green), not yet purchased (red).  Click Opens internal link in current windowhere for a list of all properties purchased by Rainforest of the Austrians.

 

Read more: See Piedras Blancas on Google Maps