Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumCritical wildlife habitat now permanently protected in Ecuador
Critical wildlife habitat now permanently protected in Ecuador
02 May 2014 | News story
A consortium of partners including the Amphibian Specialist Group, of IUCN's Species Survival Commission (SSC), the Amphibian Survival Alliance, Rainforest Trust (RT), Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) and the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) have come together to enable local partner Fundación Jocotoco to purchase more than 270,000 acres of critical wildlife habitat in Ecuador. The mammoth property acquisition, which includes the 18,714-foot Antisana Volcano, will create a permanent refuge for three threatened species of frogs which are found nowhere else, and the largest population of Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) in the Northern Andes.
The final 6,100 acre property, called Hacienda Antisanilla, was acquired to complete a project by international partners, Fundación Jocotoco, the Municipality of Quito, and the Quito Water Authority in a coordinated effort that will both protect endangered species and secure an important source of drinking water for Ecuadors capital city.
The purchase of Hacienda Antisanilla was critical, as this property held the most important site for roosting and nesting Andean Condors Ecuadors National bird and emblazoned on our national flag. noted Fundación Jocotoco Executive Director Rocio Merino. So after years of struggling, we were able to purchase and protect the area thanks to the constant support of the Rainforest Trust and Quito authorities.
The glaciers of the 3.5 mile-high Antisana Volcano give way to unique highland steppe and descend into lush subtropical forests on the Andean slopes and into Amazonian rainforest. Located just 20 miles from Quito, this enormous but undeveloped area first attracted the attention of conservationists in the 1980s. The Ecuadorian government declared it an ecological reserve in 1993, but the area remained in private hands. Much of the land continued to be farmed, and wildlife was increasingly threatened by over-grazing, fires, and poaching.
More:
http://www.iucn.org/?uNewsID=14753
newfie11
(8,159 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)DFW
(54,335 posts)The biodiversity of that country is incredible, and that's just the mainland. I think I saw more species of hummingbirds there in an hour than I've seen cumulatively elsewhere.