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Protecting and Building Connectivity Within the Highly Threatened Ecuadorian Chocó-Andino Landscape
The Ecuadorian Chocó-Andino lies between the Tropical Andes and Tumbes-Chocó Magdalena Biodiversity Hotspots, making it an extremely unique region with vast biodiversity found nowhere else in the world. Its proximity to several major and growing urban centers means that its mountains, paramos, and cloudforests are threatened. By establishing private protected areas, this project will protect and restore strategic areas of the Ecuadorian Chocó-Andino region to prevent deforestation and loss of endangered and endemic biodiversity.
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Impact
Location
The Chocó-Andino Region west of Quito in the province of Pichincha in Ecuador.
Impact
- Protecting intact primary forest, key watersheds, and biodiversity within a 1,750,000+ acre highly threatened cloud forest region of Ecuador with some of the highest biodiversity in the world
- Restoring degraded areas of cloudforest
- Connecting fragmented remnants of forest and isolated protected areas to ensure the survival of the diverse ecosystems in this critical and extremely threatened region.
Project Overview
The Ecuadorian Chocó is one of the most threatened hotspots in the world and the forests of the Ecuadorian Chocó-Andino have some of the highest deforestation rates in the country.
Despite the many urgent threats to this region – development and urbanization, cattle ranching, agriculture, mining – there are still large areas of cloud forest with still-thriving biodiversity in this region, in addition to many degraded areas that can be restored over time.
That’s why our focus is on rapidly protecting this imminently threatened land, to prevent its ecosystems, biodiversity, and critical water sources from disappearing entirely.
We will establish private reserves to ensure lasting protection of standing forests and watersheds, allow for natural regeneration of degraded areas, implement land management and restoration plans for each reserve, and increase connectivity between protected areas, key for conserving the habitats of the region’s incredible biodiversity.
By also collaborating with organizational, community, and governmental actors in the region, this project will increase connectivity between existing and new protected areas, create bio corridors that protect as much of the landscape and biodiversity as possible, facilitate scientific conservation-oriented field research, and strengthen conservation and management of all protected areas and conservation zones.
Partners
- Reserva Las Gralarias
- Conservación y Desarrollo
Current Actions on the Ground
Scientific assessments
- Conducting biodiversity research assessments on the ground to identify the most strategic areas to prioritize in terms of high biodiversity and forest health
Legal evaluations
- Legal investigation into the land in the region of interest to determine specific sites to establish as private reserves
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Conservation Strategies for Long-Term Impact
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