Osa-Golfito Initiative in Southern Costa Rica (INOGO)

The central question being addressed with this project is: How can we make human well-being and the well-being of the natural environment compatible? One of the main projects in this program (LAPA) is the experimental enrichment of oil palm plantations, via addition of bananas, cacao, and timber trees, to address risks of fungal pathogens, secure some food production and timber production revenues, all of which have implications for human economic well-being and food security. We use a matched pair design in our experimental manipulations, pairing one enriched and one traditional plot, replicated throughout the landscape. We will be monitoring soil, insects, plant diversity, fungal disease in palms (“flecha seca”), rodent abundance (and zoonotic disease risks), as well as economic revenue via the selling of produce and commercialization of epiphytic ornamental plants.

Collaborator: Bill Durham

Funding: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment