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From the introduction:
In a remote and lush corner of Costa Rica, near the border with Panama, lies a realm of giant trees, potbellied spider monkeys, harpy eagles, prowling jaguars, and herds of white-lipped peccary, a tusked pig-like beast. This is the Osa Peninsula and there is no other place in the world like it. Named after an indigenous chief, the Osa Peninsula is an area of just 430,000 acres that juts out from the mainland. Osa: Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea includes within its purview the greater Osa region, which encompasses the Térraba-Sierpe Delta to the north, the lands bordering the Golfo Dulce, and, to the south, the northwestern corner of Panama, a territory of similar biology, weather, and cultural history. |
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I.S.B.N. 978-0-9816028-2-0 ( Hardcover ) U.S. Retail $50.00 |
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Internationally acclaimed nature photographer Roy Toft travels the world in search of new photographic images. His work has been featured in National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, Discover Magazine, and other publications. In addition to receiving a BBC award for photography, he was named founding fellow of the prestigious International League of Conservation Photographers. He has been traveling to the Osa for more than twenty years.
His work can be found online at: |
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About the Photographer Roy Toft |
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Osa: Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea Photographs by Roy Toft, Written by Trond Larsen Foreword by Adrian Forsyth |
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An embarrassment of riches, the Osa seems to call for superlatives at every turn. Within Central America, for example, it contains the largest swath of lowland rainforest on the Pacific Coast and the most expansive mangrove wetlands; the tallest tree, a 250 feet (77 meter) kapok; the healthiest population of scarlet macaws—the only one that biologists judge to be growing in size; and it boasts more species of trees and plants than any forest occurring north of Panama. Applying an even wider standard of comparison yields additional forms of uniqueness: the Golfo Dulce is one of only four tropical fjords in the world, and it and the surrounding marine waters are believed to be the only place in the world where breeding populations of humpback whales from the northern hemisphere meet breeding populations arriving from the southern hemisphere. The Osa Peninsula supports more than fifty percent of the animal and plant species that live in Costa Rica, yet it covers a mere three percent of the country’s total land area. This is an especially remarkable fact in a country that contains over 500,000 species—or four percent of all species estimated to exist worldwide. The entire United States, by comparison, has half the number of species that live in Costa Rica, with 200 times more land, and, because the Osa remains a relatively unexplored wilderness, thousands of species still await discovery. |
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Biologist and conservationist Trond Larsen received his PhD from Princeton University and has been conducting scientific research on the Osa for over ten years. In his former role as science director for the organization Friends of the Osa, he established a new biological station on the peninsula. He is currently a research fellow with World Wildlife Fund, Princeton University, and the Smithsonian Institution. He was a founding director of Amazon Conservation Association and has won numerous awards for his research and publications. |
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About the Author Trond Larsen |
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Advance praise & sample spreads |
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America’s national parks are wonderful treasures, but they are dwarfed in biodiversity by Osa, Costa Rica’s crown jewel. The stunning contents of Osa: Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea are the best way to experience this park short of going there.
Edward O. Wilson, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner University Professor Emeritus, Harvard University |
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The beauty of diversity of the Osa are unrivalled in the World. Osa: Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea is the first book of its kind to describe this unique place, and it represents a thoughtfully woven blend of stunning photographic art and insightful text that is sure to delight readers interested in the ecology and culture of the region.
Alvaro Ugalde, father of the Costa Rican National Parks System |
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The Osa Peninsula, which we first visited in 1965, contains the single most important stretch of Pacific Coast forest in the New World tropics, and it is the only place on this side of the Pacific where old-growth rainforest still hugs the ocean. The superb images and marvelous text of Osa: Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea take you on an awe-inspiring journey through the peninsula.
Dan Janzen & Winnie Hallwachs, founding members of Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica |
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Zona Tropical Publications |
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ZONA TROPICAL PUBLICATIONS |