Jardin Gaia is an especially important resource for veterinarians and wildlife veterinary students. Four thesis in wildlife medicine have been realized thanks to our center. Until 3 years ago, the only existing Costa Rican school of veterinary medicine did not provide its students with training in wildlife or exotic medicine. Now, however, students are required to intern here at Jardin Gaia prior to their graduation for a 4 weeks rotation. During 1998 we saw a 65% increase of cases in the Wildlife Clinic and for the future we plan to expand our work including collecting data and samples in wild populations of primates and sea birds.
In 1998 we have been authorized to release also confiscated former pets and the first experience with parrots of different species have been very promising. In April 1999 we do the single most important reintroduction of Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao) ever done, releasing 21 individuals in the Rio Savegre area. Until now, the release proved very succesfull. We established a permanent releasing site with several large enclosures in CoopeSilencio, a rural community, 45 minutes drive from the Center, that offered his 2,000 acres property along the Savegre River. The area is strategic for the proposed Biological Corridor between Manuel Antonio National Park and Los Santos Forestry Reserve, a large (+50,000 acres) unprotected state owned primary forest that hopefully will become soon a new national park.
Through local communities participation we hope to solve the risk that released *former pets* could be recaptured by natives. We intend to monitor for one year the large flock of released former pets Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao) set free last April as well a troop of hand raised Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri oerstedi citrinellus) recently released.
Please note that Volunteers are living in the community and the whole fee paid to Jardin Gaia will benefit the cooperative.
We are establishing a living collection of lowland native flora in order to
educate visitors on the high biodiversity of the area. As part of our
program we will start to establish an Herbarium and a collection of flowers
in alcohol: a first step in order to establish a modern Botanical Garden
that will specialize in the endangered flora of low lands from both coasts.
In 1998 we published the volume *Orchids of Manuel Antonio National Park*, the firts research published in Costa Rica entirely devoted to one of the most visited protected area of the country, result of a three plus years investigation done at our center by F. Pupulin.
A 5 years long research program has been planned under the direction of our
botanist Mr. Franco Pupulin, Research Associate at Mary Selby Botanical
Garden (Sarasota , USA) and member of the UICN Orchid Specialists Group, to
work out the epiphytic flora of the Rio Savegre basin (0-3000 m a.sl.), both
in terms of diversity and frequency.
In 1999 a new Micro propagation Laboratory was built. Orchid cultivation in greenhouses using seeds or through tissue culture is a sustainable alternative to the illegal extraction from the forest when the plants are sold cheaper, or at the same price, of wild collected specimens. The micorpropagation lab will play in the future a significant role in conservation of rare germoplasm and to mantain genetic diversity for plant re-introduction projects.
The seedlings propagated in the Laboratory will be grown in a large greenhouse that will be built in CoopeSilencio during 2000 and the economic benefits will be shared with that community.
In coordination with the Central Pacific Conservation Area and the Ministry of Public Education, Jardin Gaia is developing an Environmental Education Program dedicated to train students of the area about the importance of taking care of what is left of the native wildlife.
To reach this goal we are working on two permanent educational exhibitions, one in Jardin Gaia and the other in Manuel Antonio National Park, and a third one that should be movable to schools. Our hope is that local communities will become responsible for the successful reintroduction of species rehabilitated in Jardin Gaia.
To date, we've received, and educated, childrens from +35 rural schools free of charge, in coordination with local Park Rangers.
In Jardin Gaia we plan to develop in long terms a Natural History Museum describing the nine life zone of the Central Pacific Conservation Area. For each life zone we plan to describe the representative species , the potential and the problems of each life zone.