ECUADOR

Protect Rainforest in Ecuador from Deforestation

Project Cost: $276,077

Funding Raised: $276,077

Please note that your donation may not be immediately reflected in the funding thermometer above.

Nearly one acre of forest is lost every second

27M+ ACRES SAVED

Thanks to generous support from our donors, we have successfully reached our fundraising goal for this project.

Project at a Glance

The Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot extends along the Pacific coast, all the way from Panama to the tip of Peru. This expansive region includes a range of habitats from mangroves, beaches, rocky shorelines, coastal wilderness and, in Ecuador, some of the world’s wettest rainforests.

The Chocó in Ecuador experienced some of the highest deforestation rates in the country – 98% of this rainforest has been cleared. With escalating rates of deforestation from unsustainable development and agriculture, it is only a matter of time before this critical forest is lost forever and the unique species that rely on it are faced with extinction. Header Photo: The Endangered Mache Cochran Frog. Photo by Christian Paucar.

COUNTRY
Ecuador

ACRES
398

COST PER ACRE
$693.66

SPECIES

Ecuadorian White-fronted Capuchin (CR); Banded Ground-cuckoo (EN); Grey-backed Hawk (EN); Mache Cochran Frog (EN); Purple Quail-dove (EN); Slaty Becard (EN)
 
(CR)=Critically Endangered, (EN)=Endangered, (VU)=Vulnerable

ACRES CONSERVED BY
Purchase

PARTNER
Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales (FCAT)

CARBON STORAGE
80,963 mT*
*(metric tonnes of CO2 equivalents)

Create a Corridor of Protection

In order to halt habitat destruction and preserve what remains of the Chocó, Rainforest Trust and our local partner Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales (FCAT) are working to safeguard 398 acres of rainforest to create a corridor of protection between two existing protected areas – the Mache Chindul National Ecological Reserve and the Cube Lagoon Conservation Area.

The new protected area will not only provide connectivity for wildlife, but also increase the security of the existing reserves and the local communities’ land from encroachment. This project is of national significance, because it would improve the ability to manage and patrol one of the most threatened habitats of Ecuador.

 

Safeguard Threatened Birds

The new site is within an Important Bird Area that will help support the Chocó’s more than 360 bird species – of which 23 are endemic, and 14 are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species such as the Endangered Banded Ground-cuckoo.

Your support will help protect critical habitat for several threatened amphibians, including the Endangered Mache Cochran Frog, Coastal Ecuador Smoky Jungle Frog, Greater Dwarf-gecko (Lepidoblepharis grandis), and the Rosado’s Robber Frog. Photos: (Above) The Endangered Banded Ground-cuckoo, by Morray Cooper; (Below) The Chocó Forest, by Alejandro Arteaga.

 

Project Location