Osa Peninsula Real Estate News
Osa Pacific Properties / South Costa Rica / Osa Peninsula Region
Costa Rican MLS Service. Costa Rica does not have a unified country wide MLS (Multiple Listing Service), nor are there plans for one at this time. There are currently no less than 5 fractured groups that make the claim of being Costa Ricas true MLS service. For this reason, Osa Pacific Properties chooses to have no affiliation or make any representation of being an MLS service member.
Its official. The Costanera Sur is Finished. The $51.6 million project connects a newly paved stretch of Pacific Coast Highway between the central Pacific town of Quepos and the south Pacific town of Dominical. The new highway is 26 miles long and will open up travel to and from the Osa Peninsula Region. Travel time from Dominical in the Osa to San Jose the Capital will be reduced by over 2 hours. Real estate values in the Osa Region will see a boost as a result. The Costanera (Pacific Coast) Highway between Dominical and Palmar Sur is considered one of the most scenic drives in Costa Rica.
Happy Planet Index 2.0: Why Good Things Don't Have To Cost The Earth
The Happy Planet Index reveals the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered. The index combines environmental impact with human well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which, country by country, people live long and happy lives. This is the second compilation of data for 143 countries around the world, representing 99% of the worlds population. Costa Rica Tops The Happy Planet Index 2.0. Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world and have the second-highest average life expectancy of the New World (second only to Canada).
Proposed New Southern Zone International Airport
Former Costa Rican Rican President Oscar Arias was in the Osa Peninsula Region and signed the official documents to formalize the site of the proposed new southern zone International Airport in the Sierpe Valley. The Civil Aviation General Directorate plans to construct the Airport in lowlands between farms number 9 and number 10, between the Sierpe and Palmar Districts. The proposed new airport will open up international travel to South Costa Rica and the pristine Osa Region. This proposal has already had a significant impact on the value of Osa Peninsula real estate in the southern zone of Costa Rica.
Osa Regional Hospital
The newest Regional Hospital in the Osa Penninsula Region of South Costa Rica was completed in the town of Cortez, alongside the Costanera (Pacific Coast) Highway. This 86,000 square foot hospital facility provides a wide range of health services and health care professionals, including physicians in cardiology, oncology, and neurology. The hospital is a benefit to all of those that live in or visit the southern zone in Costa Rica.
Southern Zone Hydroelectric Power Plant
Construction is set to begin on a new billion dollar hydroelectric power plant in the Osa Region, to be named El Diquis. The plant is a project of the Costa Rica Electrical Institute. Some 14,000 acres of land will be flooded, and when the plant is in operation, it is expected to generate 630 megawatts of environmentally clean energy. The completed infrastructure and planned Archaelogical Museum will be an additional boost to tourism in the Osa Peninsula Region.
Costa Rica's Finest Golf Courses
In the 1970's, George Fazio was commissioned to design the first 18 hole championship golf course in Costa Rica at what has become known as the Cariari Country Club. This course has a reputation of being one of the best in all of Central America. Built on an old coffee plantation, this 6,590 yard layout challenges the creative abilities of any professional or amateur golfer. Costa Rican golfers and tourists alike can enjoy courses designed by George Fazio, Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones II, Ron Garl, Ted Robinson, Mike Young, and Tracy May. The beautiful Garra de Leon golf course, designed by Robert Trent Jones II, is another magnificent example of a top quality Costa Rican golf design. This 7,030 yards of coastal golf course plays at 6,593, 6,045 and 5,396 yards. The spectacular resort surrounding Garra de Leon is considered to be the most luxurious golf and beach resorts in the entire Central American continent. Within driving distance is the 18 hole championship links play of Hacienda Pinilla Golf and Country Club. Designed by Mike Young, this 7,274 yard coastal layout is an exciting course with open fairways and challenging winds. Nearby, the Royal Pacific Golf & Country Club was completed in 1997. This Ron Garl course was architecturally designed for play through a variety of natural Costa Rican terrain within it's 6,802 yards. Complimenting these legendary courses is the unforgettable golfing at Valle del Sol, a beautiful 18 hole golf course in the Central Valley, not far from the city of San Jose. Surrounded by lush gardens, golf architect Tracy May designed this course that brings small lakes and mountain streams into play on almost every hole. Valle del Sol is also an excellent place to view Costa Rica’s Irazu, Barva and Poas volcanoes to the north, and San Jose’s majestic mountain expanses to the west. Traveling south toward the Pacific coast is Los Sueños Golf Course opened in 1999. This 6,707 yard course was designed by Ted Robinson with two things in mind, natural beauty and challenging golf. Bordered by ocean, rainforest, and a dense canopy of exotic plants and hardwood trees, this golf course provides one of golf's most picturesque and natural settings in all of Central America and the world. Four Seasons Golf Club at Peninsula Papagayo. Designed by Arnold Palmer, this 18-hole, par-72 championship course was designed with the resort golfer in mind. Spanning over 50 hectares (125 acres), this beautiful piece of property sits on the tip of Peninsula Papagayo, nestled in the mountainside along the Pacific Ocean. Twelve holes of the course feature spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. The course plays 6,788 yards from the championship tees for the low-handicap golfer, but is accessible to golfers at all levels, with four other sets of tees.
Osa Peninsula Biodiversity Center
"There may be no better place in all of Central America to study tropical ecology than the Osa Biodiversity Center. The Osa Peninsula contains a nearly intact fauna, including jaguars, tapirs, white-lipped peccaries, curassows, macaws, and other sensitive species. The diversity of wildlife is astonishing. Moreover, the Center provides first-rate facilities and a fine trail network for investigating forests of all ages, coastal ecosystems, and a variety of agricultural lands. I recommend it enthusiastically."
–Dr. David Wilcove, Professor of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Public Affairs, Princeton University
The Osa Biodiversity Center (OBC) is Friends of the Osa's base for tropical research and learning located on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. The 4,200 acre Center is made up of the Piro Research Center, Greg Gund Conservation Center, and Cerro Arbolito Biological Outpost. Surrounded by tropical rainforest, the facilities are ideal for researchers, student groups and volunteers to study and learn about tropical ecology, volunteer in the Sea Turtle Conservation Program, and experience the diverse wildlife of the Osa Peninsula. Friends of the Osa (FOO) is a nonprofit conservation organization committed to the preservation of the Osa Peninsula's globally significant biodiversity, by ensuring the maintenance, restoration and long-term viability of the ecosystems on and around the Osa Peninsula. FOO was founded in 2003 and has offices in Washington, DC and Puerto Jiménez. The OBC team consists of dedicated Costa Rican and international biologists conducting scientific research, environmental educators and land conservation managers.
| Nation is the star in world disarmament campaign | |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The country is the star in a disarmament campaign capitalizing on the 60-year-long absence of a military. And the campaign has a promotional dimension, too, as up to 14 million persons are invited to become virtual citizens. The campaign also seeks to arrange person-to person exchanges between Ticos and individuals elsewhere on the topic of living in a country without an army. The goals of the campaign are elimination of nuclear weapons, world disarmament and a reduction of 10 percent in the military budget by countries of the world. The campaign is funded by the Red Global Juvenil de Religiones por la Paz and the Fundación Arias para la Paz y el Progreso Humano de Costa Rica. The concept is by JWT de Costa Rica, an arm of the international advertising and public relations agency. The campaign had its start last month, but the Web site that seeks to unite peoples only went up two weeks ago. The project has the support of Óscar Arias Sánchez and of Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations. The reduction in the military budget is a long-standing project by Arias, who left the presidency May 8. The savings generated by reduction of military budgets would guarantee that the U.N. millennium development goals could be reached by 2015, according to the campaign organizers. The project hopes to obtain 14 million electronic signatures from persons around the world, JWT cites Arias as saying. The Web site said that 5,002 persons already have signed in support of the goals. JWT said it hopes to gather the millions of signatures by Nov. 16 so that a document bearing the name can be presented to the United Nations. "Be part of Costa Rica, a country with no army," |
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the Web site says. The site contains a page with what is called a Costa Rican passport where visitors can put their names and even a photo. Visitors to the page can then see photos of others who support the message. There also is a Facebook page. Those living in Costa Rica are invited to become spokespersons for the country. The Web site is in Spanish and English. Only the Asamblea Legislativa can award honorary citizenship, so being a virtual citizen has no legal meaning. But foreigners who visit the page are introduced to the country's provinces and can download information on tourist sites. José Figueres Ferrer abolished the army when he was president of a ruling junta after the 1948 civil war. Although the act as been immortalized as a vote for peace, Figueres had just defeated the national army in the war and feared a countercoup, historians say. Costa Rica maintains a 20,000-member police force, although it does not have heavy weaponry. JWT, headquartered in New York, is the world's fourth largest advertising agency and was known as J. Walter Thompson until five years ago. Opposing military spending has been a constant with Arias. "No one ever killed poverty with a bullet," said Arias in a September speech. He noted that Latin America spends $60 billion each year on the military. |
Region's biodiversity stars in U.N. conference in Panamá Special to AM Costa Rica
Ways to address challenges to biodiversity conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean — which is home to up to 70 per cent of all forms of life on Earth — were the focus of a gathering organized by the United Nations Environment Programme this week.
The region, the most biologically diverse in the world, holds more than 40 per cent of the planet’s bird species, as well as numerous species of migratory birds and aquatic life, such as sharks, whales and dolphins.
However, these species are under threat by fisheries, their habitats are being degraded and their wetlands drained for farming, said the international agency
The three-day gathering, which wrapped up Wednesday in Panama City, aimed to identify ways to coordinate actions to better conserve the rich biodiversity of the region.
Hosted by the Environment Programme and its Convention on Migratory Species, the event brought together representatives from governments and non-governmental organizations from 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The region also hosts some of the world’s most important wetlands, including Amazonia and Pantanal, and the conservation of migratory species and their wetland habitats requires cooperation among governments, non-governmental organization and others at the global level, according to the Environment Programme.
In particular, the Gulf of Mexico coast is a critical habitat for hundreds of migratory bird species, which use the area to breed, spend their winter, refuel and rest on their long journeys.
However, in the wake of the recent devastating oil spill in the area, countless fish, along with more than 6,000 birds, 1,000 sea turtles and 80 marine mammals, were found dead, the agency said..
Osa Peninsula Real Estate News
Osa Pacific Properties / South Costa Rica / Osa Peninsula Region