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 Ecotourism: An Ally for Conservation
Condor Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador
Forming the primary water source for Ecuador’s capital city of Quito, the Condor Bioreserve (CBR) is made up of six protected areas in a matrix of privately-owned land. The reserve is home to more than 760 bird species, 150 mammal species, and 120 amphibian species (29 percent of all species in Ecuador, of which 32 are threatened, according to the IUCN). These species are merely the ones that have been recorded in the Bioreserve--several areas of the reserve have yet to be explored. The extraordinary biodiversity corresponds to the 16 types of habitats found in the CBR, and to climatic and soil conditions directly related to the snowcapped volcanoes--Antisana, Cayambe and Cotopaxi. With the support of The Nature Conservancy and USAID through the Parks in Peril program, local partner organizations are working to improve the management of the CBR, develop local land uses compatible with conservation, and improve biological corridors between the six reserves.
Fundación Rumicocha, a local Ecuadorian NGO, is implementing an important initiative in the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve, nestled in the heart of the CBR. In August 2001, Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment and Fundación Rumicocha signed an agreement to co-manage an ecotourism project in the Andean grasslands, or paramo, near the town of Papallacta. Uncontrolled, large-scale tourism threatens this vital Andean ecosystem in the high Amazon watershed of the Napo River, which is strewn with glacial lakes and a diversity of plants and animals that depend on this habitat. However, the area is ideal for nature hikes, low-impact sport fishing, self-guided trails, and camping.
The promotion of ecotourism in this area has deterred massive large-scale tourism and has focused on low-impact, compatible ecotourism that places value on the natural resources of the paramo. The project has regulated tourism activities and visitors, especially from Quito, Ecuador’s capital, contributing to a decline of uncontrolled tourism based on hunting and illegal fishing. As an added benefit of the ecotourism system, income generated from payment of tourism services, such as guided tours on nature trails, is invested in covering minimum maintenance costs for the park guard stations, salaries for park guards, and other direct costs incurred by the CBR. This guarantees that the quality of tourism services can be maintained and further supports continued vigilance against illegal activities in the area.
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