Ecuador,
recognized as one of 17 megadiversity countries by leading scientists,
hosts some of the highest biological diversity in the world. A substantial
17 percent of Ecuador’s diverse ecosystems are protected as national
parks and ecological reserves. Protected areas are, however, only one
component of long-term conservation, as they cannot exist in isolation
from the people and areas that surround them. The vast areas of continuous
forest in the Andes have survived to the present not because they are
protected, but primarily due to the remoteness and limited human population
of this region. This situation is changing, and continuing inroads into
the higher elevation forests are evident, as more forests are cleared
for agriculture.
Nudo
del Azuay Conservation Project
Round River is
working with the Fundación Cordillera Tropical (FCT) (www.cordilleratropical.org),
EcoCiencia (www.ecociencia.org),
and the Ecuadorian Center for Environmental Law (CEDA) (www.ceda.org.ec)
to protect the cloud forests and high mountain grasslands of the Nudo
del Azuay in southeastern Ecuador. The planning boundary for this project
spans over 103,000 ha (255,000 acres), and includes six major watersheds,
that flow to the Amazon. The region has extremely high biological value
and is largely intact, yet threatened by ongoing road construction, land
clearing, and resource extraction. The Nudo del Azuay is host to various
endangered species including the Andean bear, mountain tapir, puma, red-faced
parrot, golden-plumed Parakeet, Andean condor and crescent-faced antpitta,
as well as, numerous other threatened species of birds, mammals, and plants.
The Nudo del Azuay also has a 2000-year history of human presence, and
contains many pre-Columbian roads, terraces, and ceremonial sites.
FCT’s mission is to safeguard the biodiversity of Ecuador’s
highlands. Their most recent efforts have focused on outreach to local
communities and the creation of a private protected area, the Mazar Wildlife
Reserve (MWR), which will serve as an anchor protected area for the larger
proposed conservation network. Much of the privately-titled land within
the Nudo del Azuay occurs within the Sangay National Park. However, as
with many protected area systems in Latin America, the national park
system of Ecuador is woefully under funded and protection is very limited.
In the Nudo del Azuay, landowners and community residents rarely, if
ever, see evidence of park management. As a result, extraction of natural
resources and conversion of native habitats to farm or ranchland is common
throughout the region, despite the national park designation. Thus, in
collaboration with Ecuador’s Ministry of the Environment, we aim
to develop and implement a suite of legally-binding conservation and
development strategies that ensure the protection of these important
lands while creating sustainable economic opportunities for local residents.
The Nudo del Azuay Conservation Project involves working with local communities,
landowners, government authorities, and other stakeholders in a regional
conservation and land use planning process. The project includes
a detailed biological and socioeconomic assessment of the region, which
in turn will inform a participatory land use planning process identifying
a network of core conservation areas, resource use zones, and ecological
linkages areas within and surrounding the region. We will also work with
locals to create a range of community-based conservation and sustainable
development initiatives to reinforce the conservation goals of the conservation
area network. Among these are sustainable resource use activities, training
in and demonstration of ecologically appropriate land use practices, and
the creation of a Payment for Environmental Services program to cover the
region. Local capacity building is at the heart of all of our activities,
as our ultimate goal is to enable local communities and landowners to take
responsibility for managing and monitoring the land use plan and conservation
area network.
Nudo del Azuay Conservation Project
Components
Policy: Clarifying and strengthening
the legal foundation for private lands and community-based conservation
in the region.
Round River is working with national level environmental groups, local
communities and landowners, and the Ministry of the Environment to analyze
and clarify the legal and regulatory framework affecting privately titled
lands within the Sangay National Park boundaries. We will develop a template
for cooperative conservation agreements that will help to ensure local cooperation
in achieving conservation objectives for the region. Our findings, including
publications and lessons learned, will be made available to other advocacy
organizations via publications and a Spanish-language website.
Conservation Science: Research aimed at developing a sophisticated understanding
of the ecosystems, species, and processes key to the long-term ecological
integrity of the region.
Round River will conduct a comprehensive scientific analysis of all lands
in the planning area to identify ecological values and recommend best uses.
Research priorities include collecting baseline scientific data on the diversity
of plants and wildlife present in the area, identifying and monitoring rare
and endangered populations, focal species planning as a basis for designing
conservation areas, and identifying sustainable resources use activities
for appropriate areas.
Land Use Planning: The development of a land use and conservation plan
for Nudo del Azuay region.
In this component, our first task will be to conduct a broad-scale threats
analysis of the region. Meeting with local landowners, regional groups,
and regional experts, we will identify major threats to the biodiversity
and ecological integrity of the region. The ultimate goal of this exercise
is to identify the sources of threats and prioritize actions to ameliorate
or remove threats. Working with our collaborators, we will use the results
of the threats analysis and the ecological studies mentioned above to develop
community-based land use plans for each of the six watersheds in the planning
area aimed at protecting the biological, socioeconomic, and cultural values
of the region. Plans will include core conservation areas, restoration areas,
ecological linkages, and sustainable use zones. Collectivity, these areas
will:
-
Address the needs of
important focal species in the region;
-
Protect large intact
areas, including native forests and paramo grasslands;
-
Protect ecological and
evolutionary processes;
-
Protect freshwater ecosystems;
-
Support local and regional
sustainable resource uses; and
-
Identify mega-scale linkages
connecting Nudo del Azuay conservation areas to other protected
or intact areas in southern Ecuador and northern Peru.
Community Outreach, Sustainable Development, and Alternative Income Generation:
Working with landowners to motivate them to conserve their existing forest
and paramo lands through various means.
FCT has been conducting outreach to local communities for several years.
We are assisting them in the continuation and expansion of these activities.
We are studying potential alternative sources of income from non-degrading
uses of wild habitats within local landholdings, including selective extraction
and value-added activities using forest and paramo products. This component
will also include a) training locals to work as research assistants and
guides, b) the introduction of alpacas, a native camelid, as an alternative
to the more destructive cattle and sheep in paramo and pastures in the agricultural
zone, and c) community workshops and on-site demonstrations concerning sustainable
agricultural production in existing agricultural lands.
Finally, we will continue the current program of environmental education
among school children (in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and
local school teachers) and adults (in conjunction with existing community
structures).
Local
Capacity Building: Institutional development within FCT and local community
groups, including the Colepato Cooperative based in the planning area.
In order for this project to be successful over
the long-term, there must be local capacity to manage and monitor the reserve
network and community based conservation areas. One of our key goals is
developing the capacity within FCT and other local organizations to monitor
the status of the reserve and ensure it continues to achieve its goals,
which will necessitate conducting research, interpreting and applying the
results, and implementing new actions. In addition, we aim to enhance the
institutional capacity of FCT by providing staff with opportunities for
professional training, including in the area of fundraising and organizational
management, as well as adding GIS capabilities to the organization.