https://www.marinabahiagolfito.com/

​

Q&A with Larry Crowder: New co-director of Stanford University sustainable development initiative in Costa Rica discusses refocus on marine issues

The natural and cultural beauty of Costa Rica’s Osa and Golfito Bay region has attracted the attention of tourists and developers in recent years. A Stanford initiative is working with local residents to create livelihoods that reconcile perceived conflicts between human prosperity and protection of natural resources. 

BY ROB JORDAN

Costa Rica’s Osa and Golfito region, isolated on a peninsula in the country’s southwest corner, is home to colorful wildlife such as jaguars and toucans and to equally vibrant human communities with unique traditional customs. Like many biodiverse areas of the world, it faces pressure from tourism-related development. Since 2012, Stanford’s Osa & Golfito Initiative has worked with local residents to articulate a vision for developing environmentally sustainable livelihoods – a conservation model that holds lessons for other countries.