Conserving connectivity in Ecuador
05/22/2020
Strategic Area:
Species - Wild Places -
Content Type: Blog
Country:
Ecuador -
Exciting news for Ecuador’s wildlife!
Despite these chaotic and uncertain times, the Ecuadorian government and Nature and Culture International are making exciting progress in protecting the country’s wildlife and wild places.
Yesterday on International Biodiversity Day, Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment and Secretariat of Water signed a special agreement defining guidelines and technical criteria for the design, establishment, and management of connectivity corridors in Ecuador. The guidelines and criteria were created with support from Nature and Culture.
Connectivity corridors maintain the connection of protected areas to better ensure the long-term survival of species. As habitat continues to be fragmented, degraded, and lost to development, the need for these corridors is growing.
Better connectivity allows wildlife to move and migrate, boost biodiversity and resilience in degraded ecosystems, safeguard genetic flow between populations, and ensure species are better able to adapt to the changing climate.
This concept of creating large-scale protected areas that provide connections to other protected areas is central to Nature and Culture’s strategy.
In Ecuador, 11 areas have been identified as priority connectivity corridors. These areas will help conserve plants and animals, regulate climate, and protect environmental services such as water resources.
Additionally, the corridors will safeguard Ecuador’s large mammals and birds – far-ranging species most at risk from habitat fragmentation. The corridors will guarantee the survival of species such as the threatened spectacled bear, jaguar, and endangered mountain tapir.
“The corridors seek to maintain the connectivity and functionality of ecosystems, guaranteeing natural conditions for the survival of species and the provision of ecosystem services for human populations,” explains Fabian Rodas, Nature and Culture conservationist.
With your support, Nature and Culture will continue working with the Ministry of Environment, local authorities, local communities, and other partners to establish the Sangay – Podocarpus Connectivity Corridor. This corridor will protect 1.4 million acres in southeastern Ecuador and countless extraordinary species found no other place.
Thanks to the special agreement signed yesterday, the Sangay – Podocarpus Connectivity Corridor will be the first connectivity corridor formally declared in Ecuador. Stay tuned for the official declaration!
Check out protected areas created by Nature and Culture in Ecuador here.
