Field research stations are vital to rewilding and conservation efforts yet they're often absent from global environmental policy, a Nature paper argues.

Despite this lack of visibility and funding challenges, their impact is immensely beneficial in regions of the world such as Costa Rica: a nation that had one of the highest rates of deforestation in the 1980s and became the first nation to reverse tropical deforestation.

Joining the Mongabay Newscast to discuss the importance of field research stations --is wildlife ecologist and director of Osa Conservation, Andrew Whitworth.

Related reading:

Harpy eagle's return to Costa Rica means rewilding's time has come (commentary)

Reforestation projects should include tree diversity targets, too (commentary)

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Image Caption: A field biologist with Osa Conservation releasing a king vulture that the team has just tagged with a solar-powered GSM unit. These are some of the first tagged king vultures in the world – a part of the conservation science focus of the research that will help to understand the health of the ecosystem of the Osa Peninsula and ultimately how healthy this system is for key apex species like king vultures. Photo by Luca Eberle for Osa Conservation

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