The Organization for Tropical Studies, Inc., a consortium and Costa Rican universities and research institutions, has operated the La Selva Biological Stations in the Atlantic rainforest of Cost Rica since 1968. This project will provide the critically important operational support for one of the world's premier research and training sites in the wet tropics. High quality laboratories and infrastructure, a state-of-the-art Geographic Information/Database System, spectacular biodiversity, and a welcoming host country have all contributed to La Selva's dramatic growth and success. Over 230 researchers and more than 50 university courses now use the station annually. La Selva serves an unusually broad segment of the U.S. academic community, is playing an increasingly important role in the development of science in Latin America, and has become a world center for the study of tropical rain forests and their associated altered ecosystems. As such, the station is a valuable element of the United States' programs on biodiversity, global change and international science.
