This article needs to beupdated. The reason given is: missing information on transition with Natural History Museum during and after 2015. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2020)
View of INBioparque's lake.
TheInstituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio) is the national institute forbiodiversity and conservation inCosta Rica. Created at the end of the 1980s, and despite having national status, it is a privately run institution that works closely with various government agencies, universities, business sector and other public and private entities inside and outside of the country.[1] The goals of the institute are to complete an inventory of the natural heritage of Costa Rica, promote conservation and identify chemical compounds and genetic material present in living organisms that could be used by industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics or others.
The institute has a collection of over three million insects representing tens of thousands ofspecies all recorded in Atta, a computer database that contains all of the data such as exact location (includingGPS coordinates), date of collection, name of the collector and method of collection.
Due to impending insolvency, in March 2015, the INBio's biodiversity collection and database will be taken over by the state[2] (and returned to the Natural History Museum, from which much of it was taken when INBio was founded), and its theme park converted to government operation.[3] INBio will move forward as a "think tank" type institute with money raised from transfer of most of its assets to the government.
Costa Rica decided in 1989 that some sort of organization was necessary to study the biodiversity of Costa Rica. The government did not have the ability at the time to fund a new organization so a handful of scientists and entrepreneurs took the initiative and created the non-profit organization now known as INBio. Among the founders of the institution wasRodrigo Gámez, a remarkable and well known Costa Rican scientist who has a strong desire for teaching people about the importance of biodiversity and its conservation. He received the MAGÓN award (Premio Nacional de Cultura Magón) in 2012, which is an award of great importance that is given every year to someone who has contributed to Costa Rica, in this case related to science. In that same year he received an international award known as the MIDORI prize, given to him in Japan, by a Japanese institution; he has also received a great number of other awards in the past. Rodrigo Gámez is still president at the institution.[1]
There are many different components to INBio such as Bio-prospecting, INBioparque, INBio editorial, and the many different research areas such asarthropods,fungi, andplants. Bio-prospecting is the division dealing with finding useful products from thespecimens collected. INBio has worked with organizations such asMerck,Bristol-Myers Squibb, and theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst.[4] INBioparque is a natural park inSanto Domingo, Heredia, just 85 km (53 mi) north/east of downtown San Jose inCosta Rica. The research programs vary from studying the spider familyOonopidae to compiling a book with all of the genera of known and described flies in Central America. Such a project has never been done in a tropical place with such a large biodiversity.
Generating information on the diversity of the country's species and ecosystems. It currently owns a collection of more than 3 million specimens, each identified and cataloged, including arthropods, plants, fungi and mollusks. Furthermore, information on the country's different ecosystems is generated.
Integrating the information generated by INBio into decision-making processes for the protection and sustainable use of its biodiversity, for both the public and private sectors. INBio works closely with SINAC (Sistema de Áreas de Conservación; Conservation Areas System), being considered a strategic partner in the protection of the country's protected areas.
Sharing information and understanding of biodiversity with different sectors of the public, seeking to create a wider knowledge of its value. Most of this effort is centered in the INBiopark, a theme-park opened in 2000 which aims to bring families and visitors closer to the rich Costa Rican nature. Furthermore, through other methods INBio looks to strengthen the environmental component of the Costa Rican population's actions and decisions.
Developing and applying technological tools to support the process of generation, administration, analysis and dissemination of information on biodiversity. The information on each specimen in the biodiversity inventory can be found in a database named Atta, accessible to the public through INBio's webpage.
Searching for sustainable, commercially applicable uses of the resources of biodiversity. INBio has been a pioneering institution in establishing research agreements for the search for chemical substances, genes, etc., present in plants, insects, marine organisms and microorganisms, which could be used by the pharmaceutical, medical, biotechnology, cosmetics, nutritional and agricultural industries. INBio, although it is a national initiative given its scope, has become an international force for trying to integrate conservation and development. The application of scientific knowledge of biodiversity to economic activities such as ecotourism, medicine, agriculture or the development of mechanisms of collection and payment for environmental services exemplify this force for integration, and are part of the activities which attract the attention of the international community.
Los Bosques de Roble (Quercus) de la Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica: Biodiversidad, Ecología, Conservación y Desarrollo by Maarten Kappelle (1996)ISBN9968702056
Murciélagos de Costa Rica / Costa Rica Bats by Richard K. Laval and Bernald Rodríguez (2002)ISBN9968702633
Murciélagos de Costa Rica / Costa Rica Bats by Richard K. Laval and Bernald Rodríguez (2002)ISBN9968702633
Arrecifes coralinos del Carib de Costa Rica = The coral reefs of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast by Jorge Cortés and lberto León (2002)ISBN996870265X
Líquenes de Costa Rica / Costa Rica Lichens by Loengrin Umaña and Harrie Sipman (2002)ISBN9968702749
Plantas Acuáticas del Parque Nacional Palo Verde / Aquatic Plants of Palo Verde National Park by Garrett E. Crow (2002)ISBN9968702625
Ecosistemas de la Cuenca Hidrográfica Del Río Savegre, Costa Rica by Heiner Acevedo, Julio Bustamante, Luis Paniagua and Ronald Chaves (2002)ISBN9968702730
Ecosistemas Del Area De Conservacion Osa (ACOSA) / Ecosystems of the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA) by Maarten Kappelle, Marco Castro, and Heiner Acevedo (2003)ISBN9968702773
Plantas Comunes Del Parque Nacional Chirripó, Costa Rica / Common Plants of Chirripó National Park by Evelio Alfaro Vindas (2003)ISBN996870282X
Los Increíbles Higuerones / Incredible Fig Trees by Carlos E. Valerio (2004)ISBN9968702951
Abejas de Orquídeas de la América Tropical: Biología y guía de campo / Orchid Bees of Tropical America: Biology and Field Guide by David W. Roubik and Paul E. Hanson (2004)ISBN9968702943
Ballenas y delfines de América Central / Whales and Dolphins of Central America by Joel C. Sáenz, Grace Wong and Eduardo Carrillo (2004)ISBN9968702927
Plantas comunes de la Reserva Biológica Hitoy Cerere / Common Plants of the Hitoy Cerere Biological Reserve - Costa Rica by José González (2005)ISBN9968927066
Árboles y arbustos comunes del Parque Internacional La Amistad by Luis González Arce (2005)ISBN9968927112
Peces de la Isla del Coco = Isla del Coco fishes by Ginger Garrison (2005)ISBN9968927058
Páramos de Costa Rica by Maarten Kappelle and Sally P. Horn (2005)ISBN9968927090
Árboles y Arbustos Comunes del Parque Internacional La Amistad by Luis González Arce (2005)ISBN9968927112
Historia Natural de Golfito, Costa Rica by Jorge Lobo and Federico Bolaños (2005)ISBN9968927074
Libélulas de Mesoamérica y el Caribe / Dragonflies and Damselflies of Middle America and the Caribbean by Carlos Esquivel (2006)ISBN9968927139
Dípteros De Costa Rica Y La América Tropical / Diptera of Costa Rica and the New World Tropics by Manuel A. Zumbado (2006)ISBN9968927147
Orquídeas, Cactus y Bromelias del Bosque Seco Costa Rica =: Costa Rica Orchids, Cacti and Bromeliads of the Dry Forest by J. Francisco Morales (2006)ISBN9968927082
Membrácidos de la América Tropical / Treehoppers of Tropical America by Carolina Godoy, Ximena Miranda and Kenji Nishida (2006)ISBN9968927104
Gesneriáceas de Costa Rica / Gesneriads of Costa Rica by Ricardo Kriebel Haehner (2006)ISBN9968927171
Mariposas de Costa Rica / Butterflies and Moths of Costa Rica by Isidro Chacón and José Montero (2007) 2nd editionISBN9968927236
Ranas de Vidrio de Costa Rica / Glass frogs of Costa Rica by Brian Kubicki and Brian Kubicki (2007) 2nd edition:ISBN9968927252 1st edition:ISBN9968927236
Guía de aves de Costa Rica by Gary Stiles, Alexander F. Skutch and Dana Gardner (2007)ISBN9968927279. This is a Spanish translation of the authors' original English-language book,A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica
Mamíferos Silvestres del Parque Internacional La Amistad by Álvaro Herrera (2007)ISBN9968927228
Árboles Comunes de la Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco Costa Rica / Common Trees of Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve by Fabricio Camacho Céspedes and Erin Stewart Lindquist (2007)ISBN9968927244
Murciélagos Neotropicales Que Acampan En Hojas: Guía De Campo / Neotropical Tent-roosting Bats: Field Guide by Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera, Rodrigo A. Medellín and Robert M. Timm (2007)ISBN9968927287
Árboles Maderables de Costa Rica: Ecología y Silvicultura / Timber Trees of Costa Rica: Ecology and Silviculture by Quírico Jiménez Madrigal, Freddy Rojas Rodríguez, Víctor Rojas Chacón and Lucía Rodríguez Sánchez (2010)ISBN9968927651
Microhongos comunes de Costa Rica y otras regiones tropicales/ Common microfungi of Costa Rica & other tropical regions by P. Chaverri, M. Huhndorf, J. D. Rogers and G.J. Samuels (2011)ISBN996892766X
