WE PREVENT EXTINCTIONS
The incredible diversity of nature in Ecuador is disappearing rapidly. Together with you, we can save what's left, restore what we've lost, and connect it all together.
Ecuador is one of the ten most biodiverse countries in the world, and of those ten, it is by far the smallest. From high mountain peaks to lowland rainforests, along coastal plains, and into the deep ocean, every corner is home to an incredible diversity of life, more concentrated here than almost anywhere else on Earth. Many of those species of plants and animals are endemic - they don't exist anywhere else. Many more are yet to be described, still unknown to the outside world.
Ecuador's biodiversity faces serious threats. On land, during the 20th century, Ecuador had the highest deforestation rate of any country in South America. Logging, mining, and clearing land for cattle pastures continue. Even national parks and indigenous reserves face these threats from illegal incursions. In the oceans, overfishing - often from foreign countries entering Ecuador's waters illegally - degrades its marine life.
Our conservation approach combines science and innovation, boots on the ground, and community leadership. Read more about our work, our reserves, and our regional programs here.
FROM RESERVES TO PROGRAMS
Reserves are the most effective means to safeguard biodiversity. However, even with our exemplary efforts in expanding and managing them, they risk becoming isolated. To counter this, we have steered our expansion towards improving connectivity with national protected areas. When established strategically at the frontline of encroachment, a reserve of a few thousand hectares can have a disproportionate impact on many thousands of hectares of old-growth hinterland. Now we are going even further, complementing our effective in-house management with proactive leadership to achieve conservation goals that extend far beyond our reserves. That includes capacity building, resource channeling, legal actions, and collaboration agreements with national, municipal, communitarian and other private conservation areas. We have already built five regional programs in zones where we have the opportunity to make a difference. By embracing them, we will foster connectivity, bolster ecological resilience, and ensure the sustained protection of biodiversity at a landscape level.
