Costa Rica's INBio: Towards sustainable use of natural biodiversity

Costa Rica's INBio: Towardssustainable use of natural

biodiversity

Odd Terje Sandlund

NORSK 1NSTITUTT FOR NATURFORSKININTG

Costa Rica's INBio: Towardssustainable use of natural

biodiversity

NORSK INSTITUTT FOR NATURFORSKNING

Odd Terje Sandiund

Odd Terje SandlundCosta Rica's INBio: Towards sustainable use ofnatural biodiversityNINA Notat 007: 1 - 25

Trondheim, May 1991

ISSN: 0802 - 3115ISBN: 82-426-0141-0

Ciassification of the publication:Norwegian: BevaringsbiologiEnglish: Conservation biology

Copyright (C) NINANorwegian Institute for Nature ResearchThe report may be cited when reference is given

Edition: 150

Address:NINATungasletta 2N-7004 TrondheimTel: +47 - 7 - 58 05 00

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Abstract

Sandlund, O.T. 1991. Costa Rica's INBio: Towardssustainable use of natural biodiversity. - NINA Notat007: 1 - 25.

This report describes the efforts of Costa Rica to saveits natural biodiversity and to use it sustainably for thebenefit of society. The national effort includes twomajor elements: 1) Relatively large national parksorganized in conservation areas with extensive autonomyaimed at integration into the local communities'economic and organizational structure. 2) IN-Bio, theNational Biodiversity Institute, which aims at creatinga total inventory of Costa Rica's biodiversity within aten year period, and to offer this information to thepublic in various ways. INBio's enormous task isperformed through: 1) The parataxonomists: localpersonnel, who after receiving a basic training in fieldbiology, systematically collect biological material in thenational parks. 2) The apprentice curators: personnelwith 3 - 5 years university education who receive on-the-job training in curational skills while collaboratingwith international taxonomists visiting INBio, thusbecoming qualified to manage INBio's collections. 3)Totally computerized taxonomical and ecologicalinformation concerning the specimens in the collections.This makes the information easily accessible for anypublic use. 4) Active dissemination of information tothe public, such as local organizations, schools at alllevels, governmental nature management agencies, eco-tourism, international biotechnology industry, etc. Thereport discusses the Costa Rican model with a view tothe general applicability of the various elements forbiodiversity conservation work.

Key words: National parks, Conservation areas, Pa-rataxonomists, Natural history collections, Biochemicalprospecting, Eco-tourism.

Odd Terje Sandlund, NINA, Tungasletta 2, N-7004Trondheim, Norway

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Referat

Sandlund, O.T. 1991. INBio - for bærekraftig utnyttelseav Costa Ricas biologiske mangfold. - NINA Notat 007:1 - 25.

Notatet beskriver arbeidet som skjer i Costa Rica medsikte på å bevare, kartlegge og ta i bruk på en bære-kraftig måte landets biologiske mangfold. Den nasjonaleinnsatsen består av to hovedelementer: 1) Et relativtstort areal i nasjonalparker som er organisert i regiona-le naturvernområder med utstrakt lokalt selvstvre. Dettetar sikte på å integrere nasjonalparkene i Ciet lokaleorganisasjons- og næringsliv. 2) INBio, det nasjonalebiodiversitetsinstitutt, hvis målsetning er å gjennomføreen fullstendig kartlegging av Costa Ricas biologiskemangfold i løpet av en ti års periode, og å tilby denneinformasjonen til alle aktuelle brukere. INBios enormeoppgave gjennomføres ved: 1) Parataksonomene; lokaltpersonell som etter et kort kurs i feltbiologi arbeidermed systematisk innsamling av biologisk materiale inasjonalparkene. 2) Konservator-lærlinger; personellmed 3 - 5 års biologisk utdannelse fra costaricanskuniversitet som gjennom samarbeid med internasjonalegjesteforskere i taksonomi ved INBio blir velutdannetekonservatorer som kan ta ansvaret for INBios sam-linger. 3) Fullstendig edb-basert lagring av all taksono-misk og økologisk informasjon om hvert eksemplar isamlingene gjør informasjonen lett tilgjengelig for bruk.4) Aktiv utadrettet virksomhet, der informasjon ombiodiversiteten spres til publikum, som f eks lokaleorgansiasjoner, skoler på alle trinn, offentlig naturfor-valtning, øko-turismen, og internasjonal bioteknologiskindustri. I notatet diskuteres i hviiken grad den costari-kanske modellen kan ha generell anvendbarhet, bådei andre utviklingsland og i Norge.

ResumenSandlund, O.T. 1991. INBio: Para el uso sustentablede la biodiversidad de Costa Rica. - NINA Notat 007:1 - 25.

Este informe describe los esfuerzos de Costa Rica parainventar y proteger su biodiversidad natural y parautilizarla en una manera que pueda beneficiar a lasociedad. El esfuerzo nacional incluye dos elementosprincipales: 1) Parques nacionales relativamente ex-tensos organizados en areas protegidas regionales conalto grado de autonomia, con fines de intergrarlos enla estructura local organizativa y econômica. 2) INBio,el Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad de Costa Rica,cuyos fines son la creacién de un inventario completode la biodiversidad costarricense en el curso de diezafios, y el ofrecimiento de esta informaci6n a losusuarios.

Esta tarea muy desafiante se realizarå atraves de:

1) Los parataxOnomos; colectores locales que despu6sde un curso båsico de biologia de campo realizarån larecolecciân sistematica de especimens e informacién decampo.

2) Aprendices conservadores. Personas con 3-5 aflos deeducacift universitaria que mediante estrecha colabora-ci6n con especialistas internacionales visitando el INBiose califican de conservadores responsables de lacoleccién de lNBio.

3) Informaciôn ecolégica y taxonOrnica sobre todos losespecimens serå asequible al usuario a traves de unabase de datos computerizado.

4) Divulgar activamente la informaciôn al pfiblico, elcual serå por ejemplo las escuelas, colegios y universi-dades, las organizaciones locales, las agencias inter-esadas en la promoci6n del turismo naturalista, lainclåstria biotecnolOgica internacional y las ageniciasgubernamentales engargadas de la planificacift y usode los recursos naturales.

El informe discuta cômo se pueda aplicar el modelocostarricense a otros paises, tanto tropicales comoNoruega, para conseguir una protecciOn mejor de labiodiversidad global.

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PrefaceConservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is ahighly important problem in today's world. It is ofparticular relevance to management of natural resourcesin developing countries and to international develop-ment cooperation, which often face the apparentconflict between econornic development and conserva-tion of biodiversity.

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairsgranted economic support to the Norwegian Institutefor Nature Research (NINA) to study Costa Rica'sefforts to sustainably employ biodiversity in theireconomic development. This enabled me to stay inCosta Rica from mid-February to late March, 1991.During the five weeks stay, I was able to study INBio'scentral facilities in Santo Domingo de Heredia (SanJose.), and discuss INBio's actwities with directorRodrigo Gåmez. I was also able to study the work ofseveral parataxonomists in Guanacaste ConservationArea, while participating in a field course headed byprofessor Dan Janzen for a group of doctorate studentsfrom the University and the Forestry University ofUmeå, Sweden.

I will express my gratitude to Rodrigo Gåmez, DanJanzen, Winifred Hallwachs, Petrona Rios Castro,Carlos Chavez and Calixto Moraga for providing theinformation which forms the basis for this report. Ialso want to thank my travel companion Bjørn Haavindof the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation-TV forpleasant company and rewarding discussions. TheSwedish students, and their leaders, professors KjellDanell and Christian Otto, were very enthusiastic andinspiring company in the bush in Guanacaste. DirectorKarl Baadsvik, NINA, commented on a draft of thereport.

Mari Lise Sjong translated the abstract into Spanish.

Trondheim, May 1991

Odd Terje Sandlund

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Contents

Abstract 3Referat 3Resumen 4Preface 5

1 Introduction 7

2 Costa Rica 72.1 The country 72.2 The natural environment 72.3 Nature conservation 9

3 The concepts in biodiversityconservation 93.1 "Save it" 93.2 "Know what it is" 93.3 "Use it sustainably" 11

4 The Costa Rican model forbiodiversity conservation 124.1 Areas de ConcervaciOn (AC) 12

4.1.1 Administrative structure 124.1.2 Economy 12

4.2 Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad de Costa Rica(INBio) 134.2.1 Objectives 134.2.2 Mapping biodiversity 134.2.3 The parataxonomist 134.2.4 The apprentice curators 144.2.5 The biodiversity collections 144.2.6 Sustainable use of biodiversity 14

5 The applicability of the Costa Rican biodiversityconservation model 175.1 The "autonomous" conservation area concept 175.2 The national biodiversity inventory concept . 175.3 The parataxonornist 175.4 The apprentice curator 185.5 The eco-tourism 185.6 The marketing of biotechnology

opportunities 18

6 Conclusions 197 Literature cited 20

Appendix 1 INBio's organizational structure 21Appendix 2 INBio's Assembly of Founders and Board

of Directors 22Appendix 3 Sample data entry for an arthropod speci-

men in INBio's data base 23Appendix 4 INBio's network of external relations 24Appendix 5 Schematic chart of the process and relations

of biochernical prospecting 25

... 6©Norwegian institute for nature research (NINA) 2010 http://www.nina.noPlease contact NINA, NO-7485 TRONDHEIM, NORWAY for reproduction of tables, figures and other illustrations in this report.

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Introduction

Natural biodiversity is threatened by human activities inall parts of the world. Yet the long-term existence ofhuman societies depends on natural biodiversity.

The establisliment of national parks has been the singlemost important step to save natural habitats and theirbiodiversity, both in developed and developing countri-es. In fact, many developing countries have impressiveconserved areas. However, the conserved areas indeveloping countries will not be able to withstand theever increasing pressure from the surrounding poorpopulation if the parks do not provide obvious econo-mic benefits to the population. The benefits should atleast be comparable to the benefits expected by thedisruption of the natural habitats, which occurs e.g. asa result of clearing of land for agriculture, deforesta-tion, logging operations, and industrial and infrastruc-tural development. The pressure on natural habitatscaused by economic activities aimed at increasing foodproduction and employment to accomodate the growinghuman population often seem rnost dramatic in develo-ping countries, due to their serious poverty problemsand high rates of population increase. Governments ofpoor countries may in many cases feel a strong obliga-tion to choose short-term solutions to improve thepopulation's standard of living. In poor rural societies,conserved wildlands may be the only land not occupi-ed. As the question at stake for the individual farmermay be the survival of his family, encroachment on theconserved area through e.g. slash and burn agriculturecannot be avoided unless alternative income opportuni-ties are created. Thus, in a long-term perspective, theconserved wildlands must be regarded as a social andeconomic asset for the local and national society ifthey are to be conserved at all in the long run.

In Costa Rica, Central America, action has been takenon local and national level to put the national parksand the biodiversity found in them to work for societyin a sustainable way, i. e. to create economic op-portunities and jobs based on the living resourceswithout compromising the resources. The activities ofthe National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) appears tobe a completely novel way of utilizing a country'sbiodiversity for economic development.

This report describes the activities of INBio, andanalyses the various elements of this pioneer institutionwith a view to the applicability of the activities forbiodiversity conservation work in other countries. Thereport is based on information and impressions gat-hered during the author's five-week visit to Costa Rica(San Jose and Guanacaste Conservation Area) inFebruary-March 1991.

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2 Costa Rica

2.1 The country

Costa Rica is a relatively small (51,000 km2) CentralAmerican country straddling 10 °N latitude (Fig. 1).The population of approximately 3 million people aremainly of Spanish origin (97%), with some of African-/Jamaican (2.8%), and a few of Amerindian (0.2%),descent. The population density is relatively low inmany parts of the country, as a large part of thepopulation is concentrated in the central valley aroundthe capital, San Jose. Population increase was very high(3.8%) in the early 1980's, but appears to be decrea-sing swiftly, the most recent figure given is 2.7%.However, nearly 50% of the population is below 20years of age.

Costa Rica enjoys a stable parliamentary democracy ina region where military dictatorship and civil war is therule. Since the late 1940's, the country has had noregular army. The average annual income is approxima-tely equivalent to USD 2,100, and the population'sliteracy rate is nearly 100%.

The country's main export commodities are coffee,bananas, sugarcane, and beef. As a result of a plan todiversify the economy, the proportion of export ear-nings coming from coffee decreased from 42.4% in1980 to 25% in 1989.

2.2 The natural environment

Central America bridges two continents. As a consequ-ence of its geographic position, Costa Rica's flora andfauna contains elements from both the North andSouth American (Nearctic and Neotropical) biogeo-graphic regions (Rich and Rich 1983). In addition, theclimatic and topographic conditions of the countrycreate a great variety of habitats. Costa Rica is roughlydivided into a wet Atlantic and a seasonally dry Pacificside (Fig. 1). On the Atlantic side, the wet (rain)forests extend from sea level to altitudes of more than3,000 m. On the Pacific side, high altitude humid cloudforests change gradually into a seasonally dry forest atlower altitudes (Coen 1983). The country's biogeo-graphic position and the diversity of habitats are themain reason for the occurrence of an estimated 500,000species of animals and plants in Costa Rica (Table 1);i.e. an extremely high biological diversity in a smallarea.


10° N

Lake Nicaragua

• Liberia

/" .

Lake Arenal

Puntarenas,...•

NICARAGUA

Ria San luan

'..,..San lose *

Fig. I Costa Rica, with major cities, volcanos (asterisks) and tectonic mountain peaks (triangles). The dotted lineindicates the 1,000 m a.s.l. contour.

8 ©Norwegian institute for nature research (NINA) 2010 http://www.nina.noPlease contact NINA, NO-7485 TRONDHEIM, NORWAY for reproduction of tables, figures and other illustrations in this report.

50 kmI

Limon

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Table 1 Estimated nurnber of species of organisms inCosta Rica. The figures were based on estimates fromspecialists in the various groups. From Janzen (1990).

2.3 Nature conservation

Biological and ecological research has been performedin Costa Rica for many years (review in Gomez andSavage 1983). Since 1963, the Organization for TropicalStudies (OTS), which is a cooperation between theUniversity of Costa Rica and seven universities in theUnited States, has run courses in tropical ecology forstudents from the U.S. and elsewhere, and a numberof Costa Rican and North American scientists havebeen doing research in Costa Rica. Due to this activitysome parts of the fauna are fairly well known, e.g.some butterfly families (DeVries 1987), birds (Stiles etal. 1989), mammals (Eisenberg 1989, Emmons 1990),and freshwater fishes (Bussing 1987). However, lessthan 80% of the estimated 12,000 plant species, and20% of the 365,000 arthropod species have beendescribed (Janzen 1983, Lewin 1988, Janzen 1990,Tangley 1990).

Costa Rica has protected approximately 27% of itsarea in national parks or sinular conserved areas (Fig.2). The national parks cover most of the habitat typesin the country (Boza 1988). In recent years there hasbeen some local conflicts between the conservation ofland and the use of land for agriculture and forestry.It has therefore been realized that a long term conser-vation is dependent on the ability to create econornicbenefits for the local and national community from theconserved wildlands. The reorganization of the nationalpark management and the establishment of the NationalBiodiversity Institute (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversi-dad de Costa Rica, INBio) are major elements in theseefforts.

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3 The concepts in biodiversityconservation

The efforts to conserve biodiversity through sustainableuse include three necessary, but not individuallysufficient, overlapping steps (Janzen 1991): 1) Save it,2) Know what it is, and 3) Use it sustainably.

3.1 "Save it"

The "save it" step in conservation is obviously the firstand most important to avoid the irreversible process ofextinction of populations and species. Many tropicalcountries have rnade considerable efforts to save theirnatural biodiversity through establishing large parts oftheir areas (5 - 20%) as national parks or similar. Thisprocess has been costly, involving dedicated hard workfrom individuals, non-governmental organizations andgovernments, as well as large sums of money.

One important economic value of conserved naturalecosystems is related to the role of natural vegetationin water storage and continuous water flow in rivers,and the effects of conserved wildlands in e.g. erosioncontrol, maintenance of game populations, and climatemodification. These factors may be of vital importanceto agriculture in the surrounding areas, but are rarelyappreciated in economic terms. However, the taxmoney going into national park budgets may beconsidered indirect payment for these services.

The selection of areas for conservation has rarely beenbased on thorough research. The areas were usuallyselected because they were particularly pristine, or theywere habitats for a variety of spectacular species ofmammals or birds. However, a list of a dozen speciesof large mammals does give much information aboutthe biodiversity of the area. In general, national parksof the tropies are banks containing largely unknowntreasures of genetic resources.

3.2 "Know what it is"

To be able to sustainably use the biodiversity andgenetic resources of the national parks for the benefitof the society, an inventory of the resources is crucial.

The present inventories of species in most tropicalnational parks are largely based on the individualinterests of the scientists who happened to be workingin the areas. Thus the species in some groups oforganisms may be well known, whereas other groupsare virtually unknown.


BAJOTEMP1SQUE

Pacific Ocean

ISLA DEL COCO

<2;.

NKARAGUA

11.Puntarenas

TORTUGUERO

?•:111VOLC.ÅNICA' CENTRAL• .. ...,•,•.,

San Jose

111 The 19 INBio Biodiversity Offices, September 1990

Umon •

;•,„

Caribbean

10©Norwegian institute for nature research (NINA) 2010 http://www.nina.noPlease contact NINA, NO-7485 TRONDHEIM, NORWAY for reproduction of tables, figures and other illustrations in this report.

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PANAMA

Fig. 2 Costa Rica's eight Conservation Areas (various shadings), and the 19 INBio Biodiversity Offices, September 1990.From Janzen (1991).

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Traditionally, much of the collecting activities in thetropics were done by naturalists and scientists fromabroad, who sent their material back to museums andcollections in Europe or North America. Most tropicalcountries have possessed neither the institutions nor theresources to handle extensive collections of biologicalmaterial. When these countries establish natural historycollections, either as independent institutions or asparts of their universities, they have to look forscattered pieces of their natural history all over theindustrialized world. To achieve a near completebiodiversity inventory, they also have to start anextensive collecting program.

The usual way of collecting biological material is basedon the academically educated, specialized scientist goingout to sample his or her group of organisms, ignoringmost other parts of the ecosystem. Thus, a personworking with beetles samples only beetles, perhapsbroadening his view to take notes of what plants thebeetles are eating. To obtain a complete inventory ofthe biodiversity of any tropical country in this way willbe far too costly and time-consuming to be completedwhile we still have any wildlands left.

The model adopted by INBio to create a biodiversityinventory for Costa Rica is aimed at completing themain part of the job within a decade. In this model,the so-called "parataxonomists", plays a vital role. Thisis outlined in some detail in the following chapters.

3.3 "Use it sustainably"

The idea of a national park is to conserve the bi-odiversity of the area for the "eternal" future. This putsobvious restrictions on the potential economic use ofthis biodiversity. However, to secure the long-termexistence of the national parks, the local population hasto experience economic benefits from the conservedareas. Thus, to ensure long term conservation thenational park management has to develop ways of usingthe natural biodiversity without destroying the naturalecosystems. For society to accept the costs of conser-ving wildlands, the products delivered from the nationalparks must be appreciated by the population.

The aim of INBio is to convey information from thebiodiversity inventory to all parts of society. Thisincludes not only information to students from kinder-garten to university level, and to management employe-es, but also to commercial users. One condition is t.hatthe commercial users are willing to ensure that aportion of the profits returns to the managementbudgets for Cost Rica's conservation areas. Thesecommercial users are many and diverse; natural

products for industrial, medical and agrochemical use;genetic materials for biotechnology; natural historyinformation for ecotourism programs; distributionalinformation for company planners, etc.


4 The Costa Rican model forbiodiversity conservation

During the last couple of years Costa Rica has takenseveral measures to ensure a long term existence of theecosystems in its national parks through making theirbiodiversity resources useful and of economic value tolocal societies and the national economy. These mea-sures include two main elements: 1) A reorganizationof national parks into decentralized regional entities(Areas de Concervaci6n, or Conservation areas) whichare relatively independent and should be run in a wayto ensure that the revenues created by the parks in theregion benefit the local communities, by creating jobsand incorne opportunities. 2) The establishment ofINBio addresses the task of creating a national in-ventory for the biodiversity of the conserved areas andestablishes a framework for an organized trade with thebiodiversity resources and the information hidden inthis biodiversity.

4.1 Areas de Concervacién (AC)

The national parks and reserves of Costa Rica havebeen reorganized into eight regional conservation areas(Fig. 2).

4.1.1 Administrative structure

The national park administration of the country usedto be centralized, with one director for each park,living in San Jose. The park rangers had unspecifiedguard jobs, and they were not allowed to live withtheir families within the park areas. This structurelacked both local identification and motivation, andcooperation between local communities and parkadministrations.

Under the present structure, each AC has its ownbudget, and its own management structure, fromdirector down, living within the AC. The AC-admini-stration is responsible to a Regional Committee, whichapproves the annual activity plan developed by thedirector. The members of the regional committee areprominent persons from the region's political institu-tions, non-governmental organizations, and privatebusinesses. Above the regional committees, on thenational level, is a National Committee, consisting of 13representatives from Ministries, Universities, and otherinstitutions, like INBio. The various ACs have a highdegree of autonomy.

The administration of the AC covers two main sectors:1) education and research, and 2) physical operations.


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Compared to the old structure, the staff has beenreorganized and have received on-the-job training, tobecome specialists in their jobs; they are fire guards,drivers, maintenance personnel, servicing school classes,etc. All employees live within the area, according tothe principle that the employees at all levels shouldidentify themselves with their conservation area. Theyshould know the local neighbouring communities, andexperience the region's problems.

4.1.2 Economy

The annual budget of Costa Rica's national parks hasincreased from 1.25 million USD to 8 million USD.The governmental contribution is still approximately1.25 million USD, and the increase is made up byforeign aid, the donors being governments 'as well asnon-governmental organizations (NO0s). The moneyhas so far been used for infrastructure development(roads, houses, information signs, etc.), creation ofendowment funds, planning of future income opportuni-ties, and to purchase land to expand the parks.

The largest possible portion of the running costs of theconservation areas should be used in the AC's "area ofinfluence" to boost economic activities. The moneyspent in the surrounding area of influence by tourists,researchers, and other visitors to the national parks arealso of great importance for the population's attitudetowards the conserved wildlands.

Among the obvious means of income for the ACs areecotourism and scientific research. For example: allvisitors entering the parks by road have to pay anadmission fee, and 5% of the project budget for anyresearch project within a park is charged as a fee tothe park. To encourage national and internationalresearch, several research stations and other infrastruc-ture are being built within the conservation areas.

In several of the established ACs, the conserved areashave been enlarged through aquisition of new lands.This process is as far as possible based on ecologicalknowledge. The conserved areas should be largeenough and contain the habitats necessary to ensurethe survival of the complete ecosystems (Janzen 1986).In many cases, the land aquired to enlarge the parkswere farmlands, where the intention is to regeneratenatural forest. The cultivated land usually has peopleliving on it. With the present structure in Costa Rica,the land owners are often living in San Jose or othertowns, while the people living on the land are employ-ed farm workers or squatters (people with no legalright to live on that land). As far as possible, Deopleliving on the land aquired for the national par.(s hasbeen offered jobs in the AC administration, but some

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local conflicts will inevitably result from changes inland use.

The principle that AC staff are living within the ACalso involve problems. Whereas a few months stay inthe field may seem exiting to an international scientist,permanent residence for families with children may bea serious problem. This can be compensated by bettersalaries, housing, schools, health care, etc. Continuedtraining of staff in the technical and philosophicalaspects of their job, and intellectual opportunities forfamilies are also important in the welfare of residentstaff. The permanent residence of employees and theirfamilies involves stress on the ecosystem, in the formof e.g. collection of firewood, diversion of streams fordrinking water, waste water disposal, areas cleared toraise livestock, noisy generators running, etc. Thepractices and behaviour of the people have to beadapted to living in a conserved area. This is bestattamed by teachmg staff and families about the effectsof various behaviour on the ecosystem (Janzen 1991).

AC Guanacaste in the northern part of Costa Rica isso far one of the best developed conservation areas(Janzen 1986, 1991). The organizational changes are,however, quite recent, and the new structure and thedevelopment of conservation areas are stil subject tosome discussion within Costa Rica. In particular, somedoubt has been raised about the role of private donorsin this development (e.g. Cheney 1991). The variationin the economy of the ACs, which is a result of thehigh degree of autonomy, is also discussed.

4.2 Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad deCosta Rica (INBio)

4.2.1 Objectives

INBio is a non-profit, public-interest organization,established to understand Costa Rica's biodiversity andto help society use it in a sustainable way. Accordingto INBio's own information pamphlet "Understandingcomes about through finding out what it is and findingout what we and the world already know about thesespecies. Use comes about by disseminating this infor-mation to the many potential kinds of users".

The INBio Planning Commission was establishedthrough a Presidential Executive Decree on 5 June1989, and the INBio Association was legally registeredon 26 October 1989. INBio is governed by an Assem-bly of Founders and a Board of Directors (Appendix1). The composition of these bodies reflects theinvolvement of large sectors of Costa Rican societythis work (Appendix 2). There are economists, lawyers,

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educators and journalists, as well as chemists, botanistsand ecologists, representing e.g. universities, media,ministries and banks.

4.2.2 Mapping biodiversity

The first and foremost goal of INBio is to create arelatively complete inventory of Costa Rica's biodiversi-ty within a decade, before the year 2000 (Janzen 1990).Considering the enormous biodiversity of the country,this appears to be beyond the reach of any society,and indeed beyond the reach of a poor coUntry likeCosta Rica. The element in the INBio activities' thatseems to make this goal realistic is that a large part ofthe work is to be conducted by a small army ofparataxonomists trained for the task, working in veryclose collaboration with national and internationalcurators and taxonomists (Hoagland 1990).

4.23 The parataxonomist

The parataxonomists were selected among park employ-ees, and through a process where village teachers andothers were involved in finding the right persons amongpeople living in the vicinity of the parks. Two groupshave been receiving the basic 6 month course (in 1989and 1990), and of the 31 persons trained so far, onlytwo have dropped out. The people selected werebetween 14 and 45 years of age, and had from sixyears in primary school to one year at the University.The majority were between 25 and 35 years, and hadfinished high school. The basic training includescollection and preparation of biological samples, somebasic taxonomy, and some basic park admmistration.The course includes approximately equal parts oftheory and field work.

The parataxonomists are stationed at 19 BiodiversityOffices located in a network over the country's conser-ved wildlands (Fig. 2). At present some of the pa-rataxonomists are working alone, but the goal is twopersons at each Biodiversity Office. Thev are collectingplants, arthropods and small vertebrates. Working 24days per month, they spend 17 days in the field, andseven days at INBio, reviewing their own materialtogether with a taxonomist. This means continuous on-the-job training, and feedback as to which taxonomicgroups to give priority. Every second month all pa-rataxonomists meet to discuss their experiences andproblems.

The parataxonomist earn approximately USD 350 permonth. Staying at e.g. field stations they pay approxi-mately USD 1.5 per day for lodging and food. Thissalary is well above salaries obtained by people with


similar educational levels, but the parataxonomist'sworking conditions are quite difficult, and quite a highlevel. of dedication is needed. Parataxonomists inter-viewed by the author expressed great satisfaction withtheir job, which they found interesting and important.On their own initiative, some parataxonomists havestarted a cooperation with the local primary schools.Classes are taken out into the field and taught someof the basic ecology of their home area. The responseto this has been extremely positive among the childrenand in the local communities.

42.4 The apprentice curators

The collected specimens and accompanying field dataflow to the central INBio office (Fig. 3). While con-centrating on insects, a parataxonomist may collect,conserve and mount at least 200 specimens per day.Working in the field nearly 20 days per month, 30parataxonomists will during one year produce approxi-mately 1.3 million mounted insects for the INBiocollections. When this effort is invested in a systernaticway, the collections may quickly include all species,except, possibly, some extremely rare ones.

At INBio the samples are sorted to order, family andgenus by a rentice curators. The apprentice curatorin many ways represents a new profession. They aremainly university graduates with a 3 - 5 year degree inbiology from a Costa Rican university. The apprenticecurator receives on the job training in basic curationalskills and uses of taxonomy, gradually developingqualifications to do the job expected of a Ph.D.taxonomist. The term apprentice curator is usedbecause the idea is to apprentice him or her to apracticing Ph.D. taxonomist (local or international),spending time at INBio. The apprentice curatoreventually becornes a well qualified curator, educatedin a job environment where the main goal is not tocreate an academic natural history museum, but to putbiodiversity to use for society. This means that ele-ments like writing natural history handbooks and guidesfor ecotourists, and evaluating the potential va.ue ofplants or animals for biochemical prospecting becomevery important.

International taxonomists are invited to stay at INBiofor several months per year to work on their particulartaxonomic group of interest, together with the apprenti-ce curator. Several U.S. and British institutions havefunded such work during recent years.

14


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4.2.5 The biodiversity collections

At the INBio depot, the collected samples are regi-stered in the National Biodiversity Collections and theNational Biodiversity Database. Each sample is givenan INBio registation number and labelled with a barcode for quick and easy reference to the databaseinformation. Eventually, all information on the identiti-es, geographic distribution, natural history, and uses ofCosta Rica's organisms will accumulate in the database(see Appendix 3 for an example). INBio's collectionsmay in fact be one of the first natural history collec-tions in the world to be fully computerized.

From the database, the information is available for theNational Dissemination and Extension Service, whichwill distribute information to users in appropriateformats (Appendix 4). INBio staff will also take partin evaluation of research and exploitation permitrequests, commenting on commercial development ofbiodiversity, and guiding workshops etc. in biodiversitymanagement.

42.6 Sustainable use of biodiversity

INBio is working along several lines towards the aimof putting biodiversity to use for society. Among theeconomically valuable "products" from the nationalparks are on-site use of the natural ecosystem, in termsof e.g. eco-tourism, biology education for all schoollevels, field research, and harvest of berries, fruits, andnuts. These activities may involve light to heavy humanimpact, and due consideration must be given to thestress on the ecosystern.

Eco-tourism is a quickly growing business in CostaRica as well as other tropical countries. The businessearns foreign currency, and in addition to the servicejobs necessary in all tourist businesses, eco-tourismdepends on guides well versed in the natural history ofthe area. In fact, INBio harbours some fear that,eventually, some of their parataxonomists will learnEnglish and be ''bought up" as guides by the eco-tourism industry. One precondition for marketing eco-tourism in any particular area is the inventory of thelocal biodiversity which forms the basis for printedinformation (handbooks etc.) as well as the knowledgeof the guides.

Biochemical ros ectin . The biodiversity itself isprobably the economically most valuable asset ofconserved tropical wildlands (Oldfield 1989). Forexample, the genes of the very high number of speciesproduce innumerable chemical compounds, antibiotics,poisons, enzymes etc., which may solve many ofhumanity's health problems. In this context any

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Insects dried, mounted,bar code labelled.

All ecologicaldata in database

Sorted to order,family, morphospecies

Specimen collected, preserved, accumulated inmonthly batches. Ecological notes taken

Accumulated, stored at 1NBio

Specialists encouragedto come to INBioand work on his orher group, in coHaborationwith an INBio curator;specimens loanedto specialistsanywhere as necessary

Targetted and aggressive informationdissemination to users, such as:

Plants dried, labelled,all ecological data

in database

Sorted to farnily,if possible to

genus and species

- Managers of Conservation Areas and othergovernment natural resource planners

- Education programs in grade schools,high schools, universities, etc.

- Agriculture and forestry- Ecotourism- Scientific researchers- Medical programs- Biochemical prospecting

for commercial application

- Public information services- Museums

Transported to INBio monthly

15

Vertebrates stored forlater distribution tonational vertebrate

collections(INBio or others)

Identified and curatedreference collection

Specimens donated toother major collectionsto ensure Costa Rican

Computerized representation

databasewith all

information Taxonornic monographsstored by specialists in

collaboration withINBio curators

Guidebooks,manuals etc.

on Costa Ricanfauna and flora

Fig. 3 The flow of collected biodiversity rnaterial from field to public use. Redrawn and somewhat simplified fromJanzen (1991).

©Norwegian institute for nature research (NINA) 2010 http://www.nina.noPlease contact NINA, NO-7485 TRONDHEIM, NORWAY for reproduction of tables, figures and otherillustrations in this report.

biological species, no matter how inconspicuous, mayprovide the substances we are looking for. The wildrelatives of domesticated plants are indispensableelements in the further development of crop plants.Among the unknown plants of tropical forests maybenew plants suited for dornestication. Thus, thenatural ecosystems are the raw material stores of thepharmaceutical, gene technology, and the agroindustrialcompanies of the world.

Tradin with biodiversi To provide the economy toconserve this wild gene store, the rich part of theworld must accept that the biological resources in anynational park belongs to the country in question, andcannot be freely used by anyone. This principle isaccepted when it comes to mineral resources; the oilon the Norwegian continental shelf belongs to Norway,the copper in Zambian mines belongs to Zambia.However, most tropical countries lack the infrastructureand the know-how to manage the biological resourcesin a systematic Way.

INBio has posed itself as a competent counterpart forinternational industry (Table 2), and is currently aboutto sign the first agreement with a multinational compa-ny to furnish biological samples for biochemicalscreening. This activity will be based on collaborationwith university and other research institutes in CostaRica and abroad (see Appendix 5). First of all, theindustrial companies in question will have to pay forINBio's services, and eventually share the profits fromany marketed product with INBio. Thus the industrialexploitation of the biodiversity information found inCosta Rican wildlands will help pay for the conserva-tion of these wildlands. The long term objective is alsoto transfer as much as possible of the product develop-ment and production to Costa Rica. The multinationalcompanies may reduce their expenses substantially bymovmg these activities to low cost countries.

Table 2. INBio's assets "as a collaborator for industry.

16

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Ecolo 'cal screenin As information on biodiversity andthe ecology of the organisms accumulates at INBio,ecologically directed screening for biologically activesubstances will be feasible. This may be illustrated bythe following hypothetical example: in a medical orindustrial process an enzyme is needed to degrade aparticular type of substance X. The same type ofsubstance has been found in the leaves of a plantspecies A collected by INBio. These leaves are poiso-nous to most animals, but INBio's data entry on theplant species A says that an insect larvae of species Bfeeds on these leaves. Thus INBio collect insect larvaeB and their guts are analyzed for enzymes that may beable to degrade substance X. Once the correct type ofenzyme is isolated from biological material, it mayeasily be produced in biological cultures or synthezised.However, the first step in identification has been mademuch simpler through taxonomic and ecological infor-mation.

Economv. The costs of the INBio project's two firstyears (1989 and 1990) have amounted to a total ofUSD 5.8 million. Among the contributors were variousUS sources, the Swedish government (SIDA), andCosta Rica's National Bank through an internationaldebt swap operation (cf. Repetto and van Bolhuis 1989,Page 1990, Jan7en 1990). Annual operation costs from1991 onwards will be approximately USD 3 million,whereas an additional USD 2 million will be used tocreate an endowment fund.

Thus, the total cost for the ten years needed to createa complete inventory of Costa Rican biodiversity, willbe approximately USD 50 million (Janzen 1991).

As of February 1991, 22 full time and 11 adjunct, staffmembers were working at INBio's central office(collections, database, and administration), in additionto 29 parataxonomists located at 19 biodiversity officesaround the country (Fig. 2).

Organization Absolute reliability and dependable re-supply for blind sampling or ecology-driven search ofnovel and otherwise inaccessible tropical biological sources.

Ecolo -driven search Easily available, computerized ecological information. Direction of search guided bycommercial partner interests.

Fullv le al rivate and oliticall autonomous With the blessing of the government in a stable country. Tax-freean non-profit.

Stron links to the biolo 'cal chemistrv academic research communi Training, screening and isolation can occurin Costa Rica and internationally through the INBio-SIDR-Cornell consortium and other links.

Ma'or visibilitv and res ectabilit in the environmental movement National and international.


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5 The applicability of the CostaRican biodiversity conservationmodel

The Costa Rican approach to biodiversity conservationmust be considered a pioneer effort. To my knowledge,no similar integrated national effort to ensure a long-term conservation of natural biodiversity throughsustainable use has been tried anywhere in the world.The concept is highly evocative, and has already caughtthe interest of many countries such as Mexico,Taiwan, etc., who consider establishing institutionssimilar to INBio. The Costa Rican model for biodiver-sky conservation is composed of several elements whichtogether or separately may be relevant for biodiversityconservation work in other parts of the world. Below,the main elements of the Costa Rican model aredis cussed.

5.1 The "autonomous" conservation areaconcept

There are several aspects of the conservation areainati-onal park as an economically and adrninistrativelyautonomous unit. The aspect which implies a closecollaboration with local communities, e.g. so that thelocal population will benefit from the economic ac-tivities related to the park, appears to be a generalprecondition for the long-term conservation of conser-ved wildlands in any poor country (NINA 1990).Without this collaboration to ensure that the localcommunities consider the national park an asset, theconserved areas will sooner or later be turned intopastures or cultivated land.

The model for ensuring this collaboration, however, willprobably have to vary from country to country, andeven from case to case. What is the best solution willdepend on factors like the relations between centraland local communities, the political structures, thelegislation, the national economy, the potential of thepark in relation to tourists and other sources ofincome, etc.

5.2 The national biodiversity inventoryconcept

Creating a complete national biodiversity inventory isan ambitious aim under all circumstances, and the factthat such a project has been started by a poor countrylike Costa Rica is really astounding It may well be

17

said that creating such an inventory should be givenfirst priority in any nation's policy for environmentalconservation. The national biodiversity inventory is theonly means of knowing what we have and what variouspolicies, concerning e.g. land use, may cause us to lose.The present day debate about the effects of variousmodels for forest conservation in Norway is one goodexample to demonstrate how we miss a nationalbiodiversity inventory. Another important point is thatany serious long-term marketing of biodiversity forbiochemical screening depends on steadily increasingknowledge on the biodiversity and the ecologicalrelationships in the natural ecosystems.

5.3 The parataxonomist

One important part of the Costa Rican model is theparataxonomists. After less than two years at work, thisnew profession has proven to be indispensable ifbiodiversity inventories are to be completec within theforeseeable future.

Among the reasons for success which also may applyunder different conditions are:

The students attending the parataxonomist courseswere selected among local people familiar withtheir future working areas, and the selection wasbased on merit and interest, not on family ties oreconomy.The parataxonomists get a concentrated andtargetted education within the country, and withintheir future working areas. This means a relativelycheap education, and the candidates are notpulled away socially or emotionally from theirhome areas.

Ordinary education in biology at almost any levelincludes a stay of several years in the capital or someother large city, or even abroad. In addition to beingexpensive, this often alienate the students from theirrural background, and they often prefer living in thecapital or even abroad after graduation. This is pro-bably an even greater problem in developing than inindustriali7ed countries, where the trend, at least amongsome educated groups, is in favour of living in thecountryside. It may also be said that studying in anindustrialized country in the temperate zone does notteach the student from a poor tropical country thekind of ecology he or she needs to do a good job athome.

The continued training in the form of morespecialized courses, monthly review of the pa-rataxonomists' collected material, and the bimonth-ly parataxonomist meetings, provide a goodopportunity for professional improvement andpersonal development for the parataxonomists.Their relatively frequent contact with Costa Rican


and international scientists also probably contribu-tes to their personal satisfaction in the job.The parataxonomists get a relatively good salaryaccorciing to their level of education (measured inyears at school). This is partly a compensation fortheir relatively uncomfortable working conditions,and acknowledges the fact that professionals in adeveloping country normally would prefer anurban life.

In relation to other developing countries, Costa Rica'spopulation is well educated, with a literacy rate atnearly 100%. Consequently, all national park employeesand most people in the communities close to thenational parks will be potentially able to join a pa-rataxonomist course. Thus, a reasonably large group ofpeople will be available for selection based on merit,motivation and interest. In countries with lugh illiteracyrates, this will reduce the number of people availablefor the selection of candidates.

The rural populations of many developing countriesare, on the other hand, living in cultures with a moreprofound knowledge about the nature around themthan is the case in Costa Rica. A near-perfect solu-tion would be a locally adapted parataxonomist educa-tion combining the traditional biodiversity knowledge ofthe local culture with a scientific approach to systema-tic collection of biological material.

5.4 The apprentice curator

The model for on-the-job training of the apprenticecurator does not differ much from the training receivedby many post-graduates working on e.g. scholarships innatural history collections in the industrialized countri-es. For this model to work in Costa Rica, however, asteady supply of international taxonomists staying atINBio for longer periods of time is needed. Consi-dering Costa Rica's tradition as a country of educationand research for US ecologists, this will probably notpose any major problem. In other developing countries,however, the lack of similar traditions and a reputationfor difficult working conditions may make a similarmodel less feasible, as fewer expert taxonomists may bewilling to come.

5.5 The eco-tourism

Some form of eco-tourism is probably the main justifi-cation for maintaining the conserved wildlands in manydeveloping countries, as e.g. the "safari"-tourists of EastAfrica have provided substantial amounts of foreigncurrency to their host countries. The programmes andfacilities for eco-tourists may certainly be further

18©Norwegian institute for nature research (NINA) 2010 http://www.nina.noPlease contact,NINA, NO-7485 TRONDHEIM, NORWAY for reproduction of tables, figures and other illustrations in this report.

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developed in rnany tropical countries, to attract wideraudiences. The combination of conservation and tourismwill always be a delicate balance. The economy (andconsequently the political viability) of a park demandsmore visitors spending more money, whereas theecosystems the park was set up to protect may beseriously disturbed or even destroyed by the flow ofpeople.

Proper planning and control of tourist activities rnayreduce the negative ecological effects of a steady flowof visitors. However, the most important point abouteco-tourism in this context is how to create schemeswhich allow the local communities to benefit directlyfrom the tourist industry. This point is realized in thenational park administrations in many countries, andthe models chosen must be adapted to local conditions(e.g. Kiss 1990, p. 41 - 114).

5.6 The marketing of biotechnologyopportunities

This is an extremely important aspect in the process ofgiving natural biodiversity an economical value, whichis necessary to ensure long-term conservation in poorcountries. To be able to market wildland biodiversityfor e.g. biochemical screening in a serious way, aproper organization must exist in the developingcountry. This field of exploitation of the poor countries'resources still seems to lack proper rules of conduct,cf. the debate over who "owns" biodiversity (Fowler1991), and in a world of potential quick profits thepoor country will nearly always be the loser. Theexperiences made by INBio in this field will pave theroad for others, and hopefully make it simpler forother developing countries to utilize their biodiversityresources in a beneficial way.

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6 Conclusions

Costa Rica's national plan for long-term biodiversityconservation has several unique pioneer aspects, whichafter only two years' activity have proven to be worthadopting by other countries.

The bold plan of creating a national biodiversityinventory as a necessary basis for sustainable use of thebiodiversity information should in principle be repeatedby all countries. If the goals of the "Brundtland report"about saving natural biodiversity (WCED 1987, pp. 147- 167) are taken seriously, planning for this should startimmediately, on national or regional levels. The onlyeconomically possible way to get the job done in mostcountries is probably to adapt the parataxonomistprofession to the local cultural and educational levels.

The various ways of selling biodiversity information arenecessary alternatives to deforestation and other formsof degradation of the natural ecosystems in the nameof economical development. The models adopted byCosta Rica appear promising, but additional ideas willcertainly appear once the information has been collec-ted and stored in accessible databases.

19


7 Literature cited

Boza, M.A. 1988. Costa Rica National Parks. - Edi-torial Heliconia, Fundacion Neotropica, San Jose,Costa Rica.

Bussing, W.A. 1987. Peces de las aguas continentalesde Costa Rica. - Editorial de la Universidad deCosta Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica.

Cheney, K. 1991. Park director defends areas' privile-ged status. - The Tico Times (San Jose, CostaRica), March 15, 1991.

Coen, E. 1983. Climate, - pp. 35 - 46. In, D.H. Janzen(ed.) Costa Rican Natural History. Chicago Univ,Press, Chicago.

DeVries, P.J. 1987. The butterflies of Costa Rica andtheir natural history. Papilionidae, Pieridae,Nymphalidae. - Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton,NJ.

Emmons, L.H. 1990. Neotropical rainforest mammals:a field guide. - Chicago Univ. Press, Chicago.

Eisenberg, J.F. 1989. The tnammals of the Neotropics,Volume I. - Chicago Univ. Press, Chicago.

Fowler, C. 1991. Biotechnology, patents and the ThirdWorld. - In: O.T. Sandlund, K. Hindar andA.H.D. Brown (eds) Conservation of biodiversityfor sustainable development. Universitetsforlaget,Oslo, In press.

Gomez, L.D. and J.M. Savage 1983. Searchers on thatrich coast: Costa Rican field biology, 1400 - 1980,- pp. 1 - 11. In. D.H. Jan7en (ed.) Costa RicanNatural History. Chicago Univ. Press, Chicago.

Hoagland, K.E. 1990. ASC Workshop on SystematicsResources, Training, and Jobs held at ICSEB IV.- ASC Newsletter 19: 53 - 56.

Janzen, D.H. (ed.) 1983. Costa Rican Natural History.- Chicago Univ. Press, Chicago.

J2n7en, D.H. 1986. Guanacaste National Park: Tropicalecological and cultural restoration. - EditorialUniversidad Astatal a Distancia, San Jose, CostaRica.

Jan7en, D.H. 1990. How to save tropical biodiversity:the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica. -Amer. Entomol.

Janzen, D.H. 1991. A south-north perspective onscience in the management, use, and economicdevelopment of biodiversity. -In:, O.T. Sandlund,K. Hindar and A.H.D. Brown (eds) Conservationof biodiversity for sustainable development.Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, In press.

Kiss, A. (ed.) 1990. Living with Wildlife. WildlifeResource Management with Local Participation inAfrica. - World Bank Techn. Paper no. 130.Africa Techn. Dept. Series, Washington D.C.

Lewin, R. 1988. Costa Rican biodiversity. - Science242: 1637.

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NINA 1990. Recommendations. The InternationalConference on Conservation of Genetic Resourcesfor Sustainable Development. - Røros, Norway,September 10 - 14, 1990. Norwegian Institute forNature Research, Trondheim, Norway.

Oldfield, M.L. 1989. The value of conserving geneticresources. - Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.

Page, D. 1990. Debt-for-nature swaps: experiencegained, lessons learned. - International Environ-mental Affairs, January 1990.

Repetto, R. and F. van Bolhuis 1989. Natural endow-ments: fmancing resource conservation for develop-ment. - World Resources Institute, Washington,D.C.

Rich, P.V. and T.H. Rich 1983. The Central Americandispersal route: biotic history and paleogeography,- pp. 12 - 34. In. D.H. Janzen (ed.) Costa RicanNatural History. Chicago Univ. Press, Chicago.

Stiles, F.G., A.F. Scutch and D. Gardner 1989. A guideto the birds of Costa Rica. - Cornell Univ. Press,Ithaca, NY.

Tangley, L. 1990. Cataloging Costa Rica's diversity. -BioScience 40: 633 - 636.

WCED 1987. Our common future. - The World Com-mission for Ecology and Development, OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford.

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Appendix 1

INBio's organizational structure

NAT1ONAL 81001VERSITY INST1TUTE OF COSTA R1CA(1NBio)

LEGALSUPERVISOR

Collections

BiodirsIty Database,rch Register, , Library

Public BiodiversityI nformatton Service

INTERNAL ORGANIZATION

ASSEMBLY I'11111.• • •• ••• ,

BOARD Auditor

DIRECTORGENERAL

DIRECTOR DIRECTORBIODIVERSITY ADMINISTRATIONMANAGEMENT & FINANCES

BiodiversityOfficea-

Parataxonornists

21


Appendix 2

INBio's Assembly of Founders and Board of Directors

Assembly of founders:

Oscar Castro Castillo

Danilo Elizondo Cerdas

Rodrigo Gåmez Lobo

Luis Diego CrômezPignataro

Luko Hilje Quirôs

Jorge Le(m Arguedas

Sergio Salas Durån

Ricardo Soto Soto

Carlos Valerio Cutierrez

Ma. Eugenia DengoObregén

Board of directorsRodrigo Gåmez LoboJorge Leén ArguedasOscar Castro CastroÅlvaro Sancho CastroDaniel Janzen FosterDanilo Elizondo Cerdas

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Organic Chemist. Specialist in Natural Products Chemistry. Director of the NaturalProducts Research Center, Universidad de Costa Rica

Lawyer. Specialist in Institutional Law. Former Director of Legal Department of theContraloria General de la Repåblica de Costa Rica

Plan Virologist. Director of INBio. Former Professor and Director of the Cellular andMolecular Biology Research Center, Universidad de Costa Rica.

Biologist. Director of the Catherine and Robert Wilson Botanical Garden, OTS, SanVito, Coto Brus, Costa Rica.

Ecologist. Entomologist. Specialist in Insect Pest Control. Associated Professor of theSchool of Environmental Sciences, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica.

Botanist. Specialist in Etnobotany and Plant Genetic Resources. Former member ofFAO, IICA and CATIE, Costa Rica.

Biologist. Associated Professor of Ecology, School of Architecture, Universidad de CostaRica.

Marine Ecologist. Associated Professor of the School of Biology and Limnology andMarine Sciences Research Center of the Universidad de Costa Rica.

Ecologist. Professor of the School of Biology and Dean of the Faculty of Sciences,Universidad de Costa Rica.

Educator and Consultant. Former Dean of the Faculty of Education and former Vice-Rector of Extension of the Universidad de Costa Rica. Former Ministry of Education,former member of UNESCO.

Rodrigo Fournier Guevara Lawyer and Journalist. Director of the Univision News, Channel 2, Costa Rica. FormerDirector of the Caja Costaricense de Seguro Social.

Daniel Janzen Foster Tropical Ecologist. Professor, University of Pennsylvania, USA and GuanacasteConservation Area, Costa Rica.

Eduardo Lizano Fait Economist, Consultant and University Professor. Former Manager of the Banco Centralde Costa Rica.

PresidentVice-PresidentSecretaryTreasurerVocalFiscal


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Appendix 3

Sarnple data entty for an arthropod specimen in INBio's data base

INBio registry numberCountry

Other Standard UnitDetail Location Desc.

UTM northElevation in m

CollectorClass

FamilyGenus

spedesDet. source & date

Preservation methodCollector Voucher No.

Specimen locationCollection method

ObservationsSex

Forewing length mmHindwing length mm

Label Collect SiteLabel ElevationLabel Collector

Label Date

INBio1000000973Costa Rica Province San JoseBraulio Carrillo National ParkEstacion Carrillo236700 UTM east 541800700 Date of collection Feb 1985I.& A. ChaconInsecta Order LepidopteraSaturniidae Subfamily CeratocampinaeCitheronia Tribecollaris Life stage adultjan7en, checked by C. Lemaire, Oct 1986;pinned and oven-dried in the field1916 Coll. Voucher Code D.H. Jan7en

Janzen, Philadelphia;came to lightspecimen used in DHJ moth weight study 1989;

Dry weight g 0.7805030Estacion Carrillo, Pk. Nac. Braulio Carrillo700 LabelCodeI. & A. ChaconFeb 1985

23


Appendix 4

INBio's network of external relations

NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF COSTA RICA (INBio)NETWORK OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS

PARA TAXONChfiSTS,BIODIVERSI 7Y OFF ICES,

REGIONALCONSERVATION UNITS

SCIENTIFIC SECTCP

SCIENTISTS

NCLISTRIAL-COtit.,ERCIALSECTOR

AGRICUL TURALSEC TOR

COLLECTIONS

MUSEUMS

PUBLICBIODIVERSITYINFORMATION

SERY10E

ECLICA TIONALSECTOR

24

BIODIVERSITYDATA BASE,RESEARCHREGISTER,LIBRARY

UNIVERSITIES

GOvERNMENTALSECTOP

RE GIONALCONSERVATION UNI


OTHER DATABASES

SPECIALIZEDRESEARCH LABS

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LIBRARIEs

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Appendix 5

Schematic chart of the process and relations of biochemical prospecting

Costa Ricanuniversities

INBIOtralnIngscreoningcollectingdata bankisolationcharactertzepatenting?publishing?

Ecology-drivenscreening

Cornell UnIversIty

Strathclyde Institutefor Drug Research

INBio-Cornell-SIDRConsortium forBiodiversityProspecting

University laboratory

trainingfurther screeningisolationcharacterlzationpatenting?publishing?

Commercialsupport contract plus 100% of net ro alt and fees to INBio collaborator

uninteresting samples returned

UniversIty laboratory

traIningfurther screeningIsolationcharacterizationpatenting?pub I ishIng?

25

twndreds of samples to screen


51Z net rcyalty and fees to INBio,49% to collaborator(s)

Right of first refuseI

RIght of first refusal

60% net royelty end fees to INBio,40% to colleboretor(s)

á

Documents

Costa Rica's INBio: Towards sustainable use of natural biodiversity