Historic conservation success for Ecuadorian Andes

SAFE: Species such as the spectacled bear will now have their habitat protected

Result of years of dedicated work

December 2011: Nearly 300,000 acres of land in Equador has been protected for future generations - one of the most signfcant conservation accomplishments in recent decades. The World Land Trust-US has bought the 264,382 acres, which comprises tropical forests to paramo grasslands across the Antisana Volcano, after years of careful and dedicated work.

‘The contiguous 264,382 acre land purchase around Volcan Antisana represents one of the greatest conservation successes ever in the Andes,' sad Dr Robert Ridgely, executive director of WLT-US and a primary driving force behind this success.

A true mountain wilderness
Antisana is an iconic Ecuadorian volcano standing more than 18,700ft high. It harbours one of the few remaining true mountain wilderness areas in the tropical Andes. Surrounding the volcano, just east of Quito, are high-altitude paramo grasslands at 13,000 ft in elevation. These unique highland steppes give way to tropical forests on the Andean slopes that descend into the Amazon basin floor. This enormous but undeveloped area attracted the attention of conservationists in the 1980s, and the Ecuadorian government declared it an ecological reserve in 1993.

But even though the area was declared a reserve on paper, more than 80 per cent of the reserve was still privately owned and managed for cattle. This resulted in conflicts between the actual management of the area and conservation objectives, threatening a number of important species including the Andean condor, the national bird of Ecuador.

A first for the Ecuadorian government
Robert Ridgely said: ‘I am very pleased to report that no less than 264,382 acres around Antisana have been preserved for ever. Not only has World Land Trust-US and Fundación Jocotoco been involved, but our initiative has garnered the support of the Ecuadorian government and the municipal government of the City of Quito.

‘Because of our interest in the Antisana area, Ecuador's Environmental Ministry was galvanized to purchase the outstanding land titles of the Antisana Ecological Reserve further down on the east slope. In addition, Quito's municipal water authority moved to buy Haciendas Antisana and Contadero Grande, a purchase finalized only recently.

'For Ecuador these two purchases are a very big deal: never before had an Ecuadorian government entity made such a large purchase for conservation purposes.'

Due to a long history of intensive grazing, Antisana's ecosystems are significantly degraded, and this affects an important part of the watershed that supplies water to much of Quito. Nonetheless Antisana has outstanding biodiversity values which make it amply worthy of protection.

Returning ecosystems to their former glory
The goal now is to begin the process of reversing and correcting the damage to these natural ecosystems and to return Antisana to its former glory.

Tropical Andean cloud forests such as are found at Antisana are considered the world's number one biodiversity priority, due to their species richness, endemism and degree of risk; they harbor multitudes of rare and endangered species. On the other hand, the paramo ecosystem, although not as rich in species, harbors many rare and endemic species of fauna and flora which are threatened by grazing and fires.

Condor, Silvery grebe and Black-faced ibis
The paramo areas have particular importance for biodiversity, including the only main populations of Andean Condor, Silvery Grebe, and Black-faced Ibis in Ecuador. The lakes, marshes, and bogs provide important habitat for both resident and migratory shorebirds, as well as many special waterfowl. There are also important populations of big mammals such as spectacled bear, puma and Andean wolf.

Antisana is one of the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites of Ecuador, due to the presence of no less than three species of threatened frogs.