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 Protecting Ecuador’s Land and People
Condor Bioreserve, Ecuador
This Tropical Andes reserve not only provides most of Quito’s water but also supports local communities, indigenous groups, and private landowners.
Challenge
The white-capped peaks of the Andes push through the clouds in the Condor Bioreserve in northern Ecuador, a richly endowed landscape ranging from Andean grasslands to the Amazon rainforest. Its mountain streams drain into rivers, providing most of the drinking water for Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and surrounding communities. The grasslands are used for cattle grazing by indigenous communities and large haciendas. The region is a sanctuary for the endangered spectacled bear, the only bear species found in South America, and the Andean condor, whose 12-foot wingspan makes it the largest flying bird on Earth. The Tropical Andes, one of the world’s highest conservation priorities, are heavily threatened by unsustainable agriculture, over-grazing, indiscriminate logging, illegal hunting, and intentionally-set fires. Local communities depend on natural resources to survive yet come into conflict with wildlife when bears attack cattle pasturing near their habitat, costing families thousands of dollars a year.
Initiative
USAID, through the Parks in Peril program, is working with The Nature Conservancy and local NGOs to implement a wide range of carefully coordinated initiatives. Programs in several villages hire, train and equip residents to be park rangers. Provided with guard stations, two-way radios, patrol vehicles and newly acquired knowledge about habitat protection, residents learn techniques to reduce poaching, illegal logging and fires. Other training focuses on the promotion of ecotourism, where residents learn about the economic opportunities from low-impact activities like nature hikes, controlled sport fishing, and camping. USAID funds are being used to study additional ways to bolster the ecotourism industry as well as to study the spectacled bear’s habitat to help farmers identify less vulnerable locations for raising their livestock.
Results
The park ranger program has produced a remarkable turnaround. Deforestation has declined and the number of intentionally-set fires, as high as 99 in 2000, has dropped 35 percent. Illegal hunting and fishing have been curtailed as the local communities increasingly realize the benefits of ecotourism. In the community of Oyacachi, funds generated from tourism provide residents with additional income. To expand their impact within the community, the Oyacachi ecotourism funds are being leveraged with matching contributions from organizations such as EcoCiencia and FONAG, a conservation fund with contributions from water-users in Quito. With the identification of critical bear habitat in Oyacachi and improved livestock management, bear attacks on cattle declined from 20 in 2003 to just four the following year. Community members are so pleased with the program’s results that they voted to use part of the ecotourism profits to compensate families for lost earnings as a result of bear attacks on cattle.
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