Declared on June 13th, the new Bosque Seco Biosphere Reserve in southwestern Ecuador extends over 1.25 million acres of the country’s most pristine dry forest, home to one of the highest concentrations of endemic birds in South America and an important population of flagship species including the American crocodile and mantled howler monkey.
Biosphere Reserves are a significant conservation achievement because they remain under national jurisdiction but share their experience and ideas regionally and internationally within the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Our office in Loja worked extensively with the national government and several non-governmental organizations to prepare the proposal for Bosque Seco, along with eight municipalities, farming communities, and school EcoClubs. In September 2013, after one year of work supported by NCI, the Ecuadorian government presented the proposal for the declaration of Bosque Seco, or the dry forest of Loja, as a new UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
June, 2014 | With the help of our office in Cuenca, Ecuador, two new government reserves have been created at the municipal level, ensuring their protection over the long term. Both reserves protect the habitats of key species and preserve pristine cloud forests and watersheds, which in turn safeguard the water supply for hundreds of thousands of Ecuadorians in the region.
June, 2014 – This June, the Palo Santo project was awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s 2014 Equator Prize alongside 25 innovative projects from around the globe. Awarded biennially, the Equator Prize recognizes outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity. This September, our Coordinator of Community Development, Bruno Paladines, will be attending the ceremony in New York to accept the prize alongside community members.