| Podocarpus - El Condor Biosphere Reserve
| 2.6 million acres
3,500 plant species
600 species of birds |
The Podocarpus – El Condor Biosphere Reserve
covers an area of over 2.6 million acres in southern Ecuador. This
area, which includes the Podocarpus National Park, is considered
to be one of the most important sites for biodiversity in the world.
It contains 3,500 plant species, over 40% are which are endemic
or restricted to this area, including an abundance of orchids, bromeliads,
ferns and tree species. Along with such attractive mammals as the
spectacled bear, mountain tapir, ocelot and puma, the Reserve is
home to almost 600 bird species, including 61 species of hummingbirds
and 81 different tanagers. Birds include the spectacular Andean
cock-of-the-rock, and many endemic species such as the Neblina Metaltail
and the White-breasted Parakeet.
Elevations across the reserve range between 700 and 3,790 meters
above sea level, and rainfall amounts vary widely across the region,
averaging between 380 and 8,000 millimeters per year. These conditions
have shaped 48 distinct types of ecosystems with exceptional biodiversity.
The páramos, or high altitude grasslands, and cloud forests
of the reserve are the source of 4 bi-national rivers that supply
water to almost 1 million people in Ecuador and Peru. Because of
the ecological richness of the area, numerous international research
initiatives and academic training programs have been developed in
the reserve. This area also contains the territories of the indigenous
Shuar and Saraguro groups, the cities of Loja and Zamora, and several
centers of religious culture and tourism such as El Cisne, Vilcabamba,
and Nangaritza.
Nature & Culture International has been working to conserve
this unique region by seeking protective status of the most important
sites as fully protected areas, working with local peoples to improve
resource management, and assisting  indigenous
Shuar communities to protect over 50,000 acres of their ancestral
homelands. NCI also operates its San
Francisco Scientific Station in this area on 2,500 acres of
lush cloud forests.
The Podocarpus – El Condor Biosphere Reserve was formally
recognized by UNESCO in October 2007, and has had the support of
local public and private institutions, including the Provincial
Councils of Loja and Zamora Chinchipe, the municipalities of Loja
and Zamora, the Ministry of Environment, the National University
of Loja, the Private Technical University of Loja, and the MAB-UNESCO
Program in Ecuador.
For more information: www.podocarpuselcondor.org
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