In Costa Rica in 1970, aerial surveys showed that there were two mass nesting beaches for Olive ridley sea turtles, one of them being Playa Ostional Beach. Both are now protected areas and managed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). However only the National Wildlife Refuge Ostional has allowed a project that integrates the main objective of conservation of these species, while still allowing the use of eggs under certain circumstances, times and amounts. This ensures that the community may have a direct benefit of the resource, without losing sight of the main goal which is to preserve the nesting habitat of the sea turtles. Overall the roles of all participants are defined, goals are set and adaptive management of the marine protected area is performed under the existing conditions. This management approach has improved the understanding of the whole context of human-environment relationships. Through annual planning between the institutions of government and the community, economic and operational resources of both parties are optimized, which has improved the conservation of turtles and their eggs. Marine protected areas as Ostional can provide benefits like these, but also fishing or turtle watching activities without compromising the conservation objectives for the coastal marine ecosystems. Therein lies the success of conservation in Ostional.