Planting Hope: The Forests of Tomorrow

Southwestern Ecuador is part of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot, which stretches along the Pacific in Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, and northern Peru. This is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. Much of the area served as a refuge during the Pleistocene era - species here survived intense climatic changes over many millennia. In southwestern Ecuador, the Jubones River carved a 2,000-meter-deep gorge through the middle of this region, creating a barrier to wildlife. The resulting islands in the sky host many species that are endemic to this small corner of Ecuador.

At the lower part of the Jubones Valley, you'll find a unique blend of wet Chocó ecosystems with Tumbesian and Andean dry forests. That's why our regional conservation program in this area is called Chumbes, which combines the names Chocó and Tumbes. The Chumbes program encompasses the Buenaventura Reserve in the El Oro province, the Yunguilla Reserve in Azuay, and the Cerro de Arcos Reserve in Loja.

This area is under great pressure from agricultural expansion, deforestation, and mining. Our conservation efforts are especially important here because, in addition to being a highly threatened area, there are no national parks or other state-protected areas other than two recently implemented municipal protected areas. Only a tiny percentage of forests remain in the region.

Buenaventura: A crucial area for conserving nature

In 1999, we established the Buenaventura Reserve to safeguard some of the region’s forests and the wildlife they sustain. Buenaventura is the only reserve protecting the coastal cloud forests in the transition zone between the Tumbes and Chocó ecoregions. After steadily protecting more land, Buenaventura now encompasses over 4,000 hectares (9,880 acres) and covers an altitudinal gradient from 400 to 2,250 meters (1,300 to 7,400 feet).?

The reserve is home to significant global populations of at least 20 threatened species. This includes the Endangered El Oro Parakeet, with 30% to 40% of its population found here. Not only have we protected the parakeets’s habitat at Buenaventura, but we also established a network of nesting boxes to emulate tree cavities once abundant in the region’s lost old-growth forests. This species clings to existence and is making a comeback thanks to Jocotoco.?

Protecting biodiversity in a changing world

When we first protected Buenaventura, a significant portion of the land had already been cleared for cattle grazing. We set out to restore degraded habitat and replant its forests. To date, we have planted 700,000 native trees. Buenaventura is now the largest contiguous cloud forest in the entire region. Still, 24% of the reserve needs reforestation, and most of the remaining deforested land is at higher altitudes.?

The future of species like the El Oro Parakeet is still in jeopardy, however. As climate change increases temperatures, it pushes species dependent on these cloud forests farther up the slope. The El Oro Parakeet has moved uphill at 85-100 m per decade since the 1980s. Other threatened species at Buenaventura are also moving higher up. If there are no forests at higher elevations, these species will run out of habitat.?

Fortunately, we can change that future. We can save the El Oro Parakeet and countless other unique species. Using our own nursery at Buenaventura, we will grow hundreds of thousands of native trees propagated from seeds collected locally. We will plant them at Buenaventura in former pastures higher up the slope. These will be the “Forests of Tomorrow.” The forests we are planting today will be the climate refuge for numerous endangered species decades from now, including the El Oro Parakeet.?

The communities around Buenaventura also benefit from reforestation. The forest absorbs and filters rainwater, increasing water quality and quantity downstream. Two nearby communities divert a predetermined portion of the water from a stream on the reserve for drinking water and crop irrigation. Restoring forests will help maintain water flow as climate changes.?

We will also use innovative technology to monitor our progress. We are deploying automated sound recorders in the reserve to track the songs of birds, amphibians and other wildlife. Artificial intelligence programs will identify species to quantify biodiversity before and after reforestation.?

Most importantly, you can lead the way! By giving to Jocotoco, you are protecting biodiversity and ensuring a sustainable future for all. DONATE HERE

Read more about Jocotoco’s work in our 2023 Annual Report HERE.?