The Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge is one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth and is one of the last places with a native forest on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is one of the countries active in caring for nature and in general, it is forbidden to cut down trees, let alone in protected areas, but the reality is that the owner, in order to better sell his wooded land, totally destroys the entire undergrowth, leaving only large trees.
The Gandoka Forest on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is still alive, but it is gradually being destroyed by developers for plantations and construction. The Prof. August Bayer Endowment Fund wants to buy 50 hectares of land in the middle of the forest from farmers and create a base for research and education that will help save the entire Gandoka area - Manzanillo willdlife refuge.
The Czech ethnobiologist Vít Hrdoušek, who manages the "Gandoka Lives" project, has been involved in the protection of this area for three years and is now dealing with the possibility of purchasing a part of the species-rich lowland forest for research purposes. He presented the intentions of this project on 13.2.24 at the opening of an exhibition of photographs from this beautiful piece of Central America. An exhibition of photographs, including information about the project, can be seen in the vestibule of the FTZ.