INBio: its innovative work in the knowledge and sustainable use of biodiversity in Costa Rica
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| Autores: | , , |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2024 |
| Descripción: | The National Institute of Biodiversity of Costa Rica (INBio), the first institution of its kind worldwide, was created in 1989 as a civil society organization, with the mission of promoting greater awareness of the value of biodiversity, to achieve its conservation and promote human development. It operated within the framework of a national biodiversity conservation strategy consisting of three types of actions: “save, know and use”, forming a public-private alliance with the National System of Conservation Areas, whose work represented the first step of “saving”. INBio focused on the generation of scientific knowledge of Costa Rican biodiversity (knowing) and the search and promotion of its intelligent use (using). This article describes the genesis of the institution and its main contributions to the knowledge and use of Costa Rican biodiversity between 1989-2015. These include the results of the protected areas biodiversity inventory process and the development of the largest systematic collection of biological specimens in the country's history, fully systematized; the development of an information management system that integrated all the information from the inventory and the specimens in its collection in digital format, allowing global access to this information or its correlation with that of other sources. The results of promoting and facilitating the use of information through five programs: Natural Sciences and Conservation Biology, for scientific purposes; Bioliteracy and Education, conceptually designed for the teaching and development of awareness about the value of biodiversity; Bioprospecting, the systematic search for economic uses of biodiversity for medicinal, agricultural and industrial purposes; Conservation for Development, the use of the information for wild areas conservation purposes, surrounding communities or nature tourism, among others; Technical Assistance and Training, program in charge of assisting public and private entities, inside and outside the country, in the development of initiatives in which Biodiversity was the central element. The main results of its work and the national and international awards that INBio received for its innovative approaches and contributions are described, as well as the financial and political reasons why INBio discontinued its activities in the period 2015-2016 are summarized. Viewing the work of INBio as a first stage, the importance and need to continue with a state program on the knowledge and use of Costa Rican biodiversity is raised, in addition to its protection, with the goal of creating awareness of its value before the serious threats to life on Earth. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Institución: | Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Lenguaje: | Español Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ojs.www.una.ac.cr:article/19990 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/ambientales/article/view/19990 |
| Palabra clave: | Biodiversity biodiversity informatics bioliteracy bioprospecting knowledge sustainable utilization valuing biodiversity Bioalfabetización biodiversidad bioprospección conocimiento informática de la biodiversidad utilización inteligente valoración de la biodiversidad Biodiversidade informática sobre biodiversidade bioalfabetização bioprospecção conhecimento uso sustentável valorizando a biodiversidade |