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Ecuador is a land of contrasts. The country comprises such diverse topography as the Pacific coastal plains, the Amazonian and central Andean regions, and the Galapagos Islands. This diversity harbors thousands of species and numerous cultures. The Amazonian region constitutes about half of Ecuador’s territory and retains about half of its forests. The Nature Conservancy has been working in Ecuador since 1994 helping to protect that richness. More than 20 percent of Ecuador is protected, yet most of the country’s natural heritage still faces serious threats from oil expansion, mining, logging, colonization, deforestation for agriculture, and exploitation of wildlife resources. These factors, exacerbated by the rapidly growing population of 12 million, lend urgency to the protection of Ecuador’s biodiversity. |
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Los Frailes Beach, Machalilla National Park
© Andy Drumm |
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Though Ecuador is only about the size of the state of Nevada, it has more plant species than all of North America.
Ecuador Partner Organizations
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Over the years, PiP has worked to consolidate important protected areas in Ecuador and create constituencies for conservation on public and private lands. PiP promotes the development of coalitions of national and international conservation organizations in Ecuador such as Fundación Natura, EcoCiencia, Fundación Antisana, Fundación Rumicocha, Conservation International, and IUCN—The World Conservation Union. The PiP conservation policy program has also worked to improve watershed management in Ecuador. As a great result, PiP has supported the consolidation of the Condor Bioreserve, a massive area that integrates several protected public areas and private lands that protects the impressive biodiversity of the Andean region and provides freshwater to 1.5 million people in Quito.
Condor Biosphere Reserve
The Condor Bioreserve’s 5.4 million acres (2.2 million hectares) of tropical highlands, cloud forests, mountains and streams support the largest concentration of biological diversity in the Western Hemisphere. Learn more...
Machalilla National Park
Machalilla is one of only three protected coastal and marine areas in continental Ecuador. Learn more...
Podocarpus National Park
Podocarpus National Park is the only area in southern Ecuador with large, continuous tracts of undisturbed forest, ranging from upper tropical to temperate climates. Learn more... |
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