Cantón de Osa is located in the south pacific of Costa Rica. There, the geographical area of the municipality is home to a set of protected wild areas with great biodiversity where the most intense biological site on the planet is located according to National Geographic magazine (2016). The initiative will focus on five rural communities in that coastal area that are currently incorporated into the tourism sector of the Osa Peninsula: Sierpe de Osa, Drake Bay, Rancho Quemado, Palmar Norte, and Ciudad Cortés.

The last census (2011) conducted in Costa Rica showed that 18% of Costa Rica's adult population has a disability. In the canton, the main source of income comes from the tourism sector, which does not have the conditions to adequately receive the disabled population. This is evident in the lack of compliance with the Equal Opportunities Law (National Law 7600) for people with disabilities.

The organizations that support this initiative have promoted the construction of a bridge in the town of Rancho Quemado (as a continuation of a previous project). In turn, together with the University of Costa Rica and the Association for Integral Development of the community, they built in 2019 an accessible path to the creek (small watercourse) whose extension would allow people with disabilities to enter the protected wild areas with equal opportunities. Similarly, in the community of Progreso de Drake the construction of a bridge with a trail generates that locals and visitors with and without disabilities can access public areas for the enjoyment of the activities of the region. The National Parks for All program also seeks to make the protected wild areas more visible in terms of their scenic beauty and accessibility. The program seeks equal opportunities for people with disabilities and to raise awareness among people, communities, and the public and private sectors about the importance of attitudinal accessibility in the tourism sector.

The joint efforts of the parties involved "CONTURIA, AsoJireh, the community and the University of Costa Rica" have been fundamental to generate impact and awareness in the area.

• Awareness workshops: Training, capacity building and sensitization of public institutions, community leaders and the private sector in the area of accessibility by creating and implementing workshops on structural and attitudinal accessibility.
• National Parks for All" Program: Design accessible activities within the National Parks to generate visibility of inclusive tourism by showing good accessibility practices, create documentaries on visits to the National Parks with people with different types of disabilities and create an accessible tour in the National Parks and local protected wildlife areas. 
• Bridges for All" Program: Create alliances with private companies and public institutions and international organizations to obtain the necessary resources for the creation of accessible bridge designs. Technical visits will be made to selected sites and bridges and trails will be designed and built in public areas in coordination with the organizations.
• Inclusive Osa" campaign. To assess the capacities of the communities visited to develop inclusive tourism and raise awareness of the right of people with disabilities to carry out tourism activities, technical visits will be made with people with disabilities to the tourist sites of the communities, an analysis of structural and attitudinal accessibility, a database compilation and a diagnostic report of inclusive tourism by community visited.

• 20 awareness workshops "10 on structural accessibility and 10 on attitudinal accessibility" in the communities of the Osa Peninsula in one year.
• 10 visits to the communities with 2 activities per visit.
• 200 people trained in accessible tourism
•  4 documentaries on National Parks For All
• 1 database on accessible businesses in the Osa Peninsula.
• 2 accessible elevated hammock bridges in the Osa Peninsula.
• 1 diagnosis of inclusive tourism in the communities visited.
• 1 Inclusive Osa database

Intermediate results:

• Attitudinal awareness, changing the paradigms of disability.
• Commitment of private companies and public institutions in terms of structural accessibility.
• Greater participation of communities in the issue of accessibility and inclusion in wild protected areas.
• Greater performance of public institutions that manage protected areas in their commitment to inclusion.
• Commitment of protected wildlife areas to accessibility and inclusion.
• National and international promotion of the Accessible Osa destination.
• Socioeconomic growth of the communities with the use of the structures of the accessible destination.
• Communities develop capacities to implement inclusive tourism.
• Communities become aware of the right of persons with disabilities to carry out tourism activities.

Expected impact:

• Increase tourism by 3% annually for people with disabilities in National Parks and protected areas.
• Percentage increase in accessibility to specific sites in conservation areas. 
• Increase the database of accessible sites and businesses for tourism in the Osa Peninsula by 20% annually.

• Osa Conservation Association
• Local Integral Development Associations
• Ministry of Health
• Costa Rican Tourism Institute
• Local Chamber of Tourism
• Municipal Council
• National Systems of Conservation Areas.

• Michael Rugama: in charge of the tourism office of the municipality of Osa - mrugama@munideosa.go.cr - Costa Rica
• Jenny Esquivel Mesen: president of Asojireh - jenny.esquivel@asojireh.org - Costa Rica
• Roberval Tavares de Almeida: president of Conturia - centrosocioambiental@hotmail.com - Costa Rica