 Ecuador
Environment Summary
Ecuador, located on the northwestern coast of South America,
comprises continental territory and the Galapagos Islands.
It has four distinct geographical regions (coast, highlands,
Amazon, and the Galapagos Islands), each with a unique climate
and environment. Because this ecological variety is spread
across a relatively small country, Ecuador is a biodiversity
hotspot, with one of the greatest densities of unique species
in the world. The potential for Ecuadorians to benefit from
this diversity – through forest management, sustainable
fishing, ecotourism, and watershed management – is enormous.
Ecuador’s environments are threatened, however, by social,
economic, political, and external pressures, including the
ongoing conflict in neighboring Colombia. Ecuador’s
deforestation rate is the second highest in South America
and the highest of any Amazonian country. Alarming levels
of over-fishing affect the Galapagos Marine Reserve, the world’s
second largest protected marine area. USAID’s environmental
activities in Ecuador seek to conserve the country’s
rich biological resources while providing viable economic
opportunities for the inhabitants that depend on these resources.
USAID’s environment activities in the following three
sectors are summarized below:
Biodiversity & Conservation
USAID's biodiversity activities focus on four main components: a) conservation of the Tropical Andes, including Quito's water supply, b) conservation of the Galapagos Marine Reserve, c) protection of the Amazon Basin and northern border of the country, and d) conservation and consolidation of indigenous areas. These are discussed below.
Conservation of Tropical Andes/Quito's Water Supply
Located in the tropical Andes, Ecuador's Condor Bioreserve contains great biodiversity, including nearly as many bird species as found in the continental United States. It is also the main source of water for the Quito metropolitan area. Although the Bioreserve includes six protected areas, unsustainable agriculture and cattle ranching threaten the Bioreserve's natural resources.
USAID's activities in the Condor Bioreserve are carried out through the Parks in Peril program, one of USAID's most successful conservation programs. Parks in Peril, implemented by The Nature Conservancy, works in the Bioreserve to implement ecological easements, encourage community co-management, and protect the watershed. For example, in the Antisana Reserve, community park guards now patrol approximately 23,300 hectares of highland grassland. This has reduced fires by 35 percent and has increased control over illegal hunting and fishing. In addition, USAID has supported work with local governments to develop watershed management plans in four nearby municipalities, which has resulted in better management of 17,000 hectares of forests, critical watersheds, and local habitat.
Additional information about Parks in Peril activities in the Condor Bioreserve can be found on the following websites:
Galapagos Marine Biological Reserve
 The
Galapagos Islands, located approximately 600 miles off the
coast of Ecuador, are home to a wide variety of plant and
animal species, many of which are found nowhere else in the
world: the Galapagos tortoise, the world's only seagoing lizards,
the flightless cormorant, Darwin's famous finches, and the
Galapagos penguin. Although the surrounding waters and 97%
of the islands' area are protected as parks, the area suffers
from overfishing, overgrazing, and unsustainable tourism and
agriculture.
USAID partners with the World Wildlife Fund and the Galapagos
National Park to support the conservation of the Galapagos
Marine Biological Reserve. Activities include providing training
and technical assistance to strengthen local ability to manage
and control the reserve, implementing a zoning plan for the
area, and developing community-based tourism activities as
an alternative to unsustainable fishing activities.
 Additional
information about programs in the Galapagos Islands can be
found on the following websites: - World Wildlife Fund
Ecuador
- Galapagos National Park
- Charles Darwin Foundation
- Pinchot Institute for Conservation.
Protection of
the Amazon Basin and Northern Border  Much
of Ecuador's globally significant biological diversity is
concentrated in the northern border and Amazon Basin provinces,
forming an arc from Esmeraldas to Pastaza. These unique resources
are now under increasingly serious threat, including the growing
spillover effects of drug related violence in Colombia. In
large portions of this area, indigenous peoples groups and
territories can constitute a first line of defense against
biodiversity loss.
Starting in the northwest, Ecuador contains key portions of the Chocó-Darien/Western Ecuador biodiversity hotspot. Moving east, western Sucumbios province (with Colombia to the north and Peru to the east) buffers the Cayambe-Coca and Sumaco Napo-Galeras ecological reserves to the south. Cayambe-Coca reportedly has more plant and animal diversity than any other protected area in the country. Similarly, the largely unexplored Sumaco Napo-Galeras is incredibly rich in flora and fauna, with an almost unbelievable 40% of all flora sampled identified as species new to science. Indigenous Cofán and Quichua populations live in this area and both reserves are part of the larger Condor Bioreserve, Quito's primary watershed.
Further east in Sucumbios is the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, one of the world's seven known Pleistocene refuges (areas harboring species otherwise eliminated during the last Ice Age) with unusually high levels of species found nowhere else on earth. Cofán, Siona-Secoya and Quichua speakers live near the Cuyabeno and rely on its resources for their survival.
Finally, the arc bends south into Orellana and northern Pastaza provinces in the Amazon Basin. Here one finds Yasuni National Park, with almost one million hectares of exceptional biological value (e.g., giant river otter, jaguar, harpy eagle, 62 species of snake). Adjacent to Yasuni is the Huaorani Indigenous Territory with 600,000 hectares that have been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Shuar and Quichua speakers also share this area of extraordinary diversity.
 Indigenous
peoples living in this region are Ecuador's poorest and most
vulnerable, yet they control huge areas of primary tropical
forest. These groups are threatened by lack of security and
exposure to risks related to drug production and transshipments
of drugs or precursor chemicals. They constitute the first
line of defense on both sides of the northern border and are
confronting serious and growing problems with illegal encroachment
and colonization, including land clearing for agricultural
purposes and continued petroleum production.
Conservation of Managed Indigenous Areas
USAID/Ecuador's "Conservation in Managed Indigenous Areas" (CAIMAN) Project aims to make a critical difference by supporting development and sustainable conservation in order to help enhance the political, economic and social stability in this increasingly troubled region. The program focuses on supporting Awa, Cofan and Huaorani indigenous populations through: a) Securing their legal rights to ancestral lands; b) Building their capacity to conserve and protect their territories, natural resources and cultural identity; and c) Developing mechanisms for their long-term sustainability. These three main groups represent more than 6,000 people having ancestral legal rights for more than 1,200,000 hectares. In addition, some support has been provided to Chachis, Siona, Achuar, Kichuas, Secoya populations.
With USAID assistance, three indigenous federations - FEINCE (Cofan), ONHAE (Huaorani), and FCAE (Awa) - have been strengthened through the establishment of financial management systems, computer systems and training, radio communications, and design of self-improvement plans. A radio communication network installed in the Awa, Huaorani, and Secoya territories with USAID assistance has improved government communications and facilitated emergency response over large distances.
Training of forest guards and implementation of regular patrolling
of 300,000 hectares of Cofan Territory have resulted in eradication
of coca fields, reduction of illegal fishing and hunting,
and exposure of illegal mining. CAIMAN helped delimit and
mitigate conflicts along 102 kilometers of the Huaorani territory
and delimit, label and mitigate conflicts along 105 kilometers
of territorial boundaries in the areas of Cuyabeno and Cofan-Bermejo,
two highly threatened and biodiverse regions of the Amazon
Basin. In addition, with CAIMAN support, Kichua communities
obtained management rights over 100,000 hectares in the Yasuni
National Park. Three Chachi communities in the buffer zone
of the Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park now receive payments
for the provision of environmental services and Chachi guards
are responsible for ensuring that the environmental integrity
of their territory is maintained.
Recently the Minister of Environment issued a decree establishing the Awa's full legal title to 100,000 hectares located within the National Forestry Patrimony, a precedent for human rights and conservation in Ecuador.
CAIMAN's
assistance has succeeded in supporting the creation of the
Waorani Womens' Association (AMWAE). Over the past year, CAIMAN
trained 952 men and 760 women in matters important to territorial
conservation. Huaorani indigenous artisans now have reliable
outlets for their products. Furthermore, handcraft stores
operated by the indigenous women have been established in
Lago Agrio, Puyo and San Lorenzo. To learn more about the
Conservation of Managed Indigenous Areas program, click
here.
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Forestry
Ecuador suffers the highest rate of deforestation of any
Amazonian country – primarily as a result of increased
access, colonization, oil and timber exploration, lack of
incentives for conservation, insecure land titles, and weak
public institutions.
USAID works in northwestern Ecuador to protect forests through
a pilot project that seeks to develop a market for high-value
wood products. The project, carried out through a Global Development
Alliance with the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, provides
the community of Cristobal Colón with the infrastructure,
organization, and skills needed to build a viable local economy
based on the long-term management of the forests. A community-run
mill and wood finishing shop are producing doors and windows
from sustainably managed forest plots. Local land-owners can
make more money selling sustainable wood to the project than
by selling illegal wood to middle-men.
USAID also promotes sustainable forest management in Ecuador’s
southern border region. USAID provides technical assistance
to develop forestry management plans as well as to produce
and market timber and non-timber products. As a result of
these activities, the title and rights to more than 40,000
hectares of indigenous land will be formalized.
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Water
USAID is working to increase the access to water and sanitation
in Ecuador’s southern border region. From 2001-2005,
104 potable water systems were built or improved, benefiting
over 372,000 indigent people in the provinces of El Oro, Loja,
and Morona Santiago. In addition, over 4,783 sanitation units
were built or improved. USAID also provides training to the
local communities on the best operation and management of
these systems. To learn more about USAID’s activities
in Ecuador’s southern border region implemented by CARE
International, click
here.
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