Project Partner
Naturaleza y Cultura Ecuador
Project Summary
World Land Trust (WLT) works with Naturaleza y Cultura Ecuador (NCE) to conserve the Tumbesian dry forests of western Ecuador between the Pacific Ocean and the foothills of the Andes, with a focus on enlarging key forest sites in the Tumbesian lowlands.
There are currently three reserves:
Laipuna
La Ceiba
Cazaderos
Biome
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Ecoregion
Ecuadorian Dry Forest
Habitats
Tropical dry forest
Method for Land Protection
Land purchase
Laipuna
Following a long history of human cultivation and exploitation, just 1 per cent of the original forest cover at Laipuna survives. Traditionally, smallholders cultivating land in the Rio Catamayo valley to feed their families have occupied the area. However, in recent years, due to fluctuations in global food prices, it has become economic to clear areas of dry forest on sloping land away from the valley bottom to produce maize for local markets. The forest has also been to some extent degraded by smallholder cattle grazing.
Laipuna reserve protects more than 5,000 acres of dry forest habitat.
LA CEIBA
La Ceiba Reserve protects more than 23,000 acres of threatened tropical dry forest in Ecuador’s Tumbesian region, on the border with Peru. The reserve is named after the Ceiba, a species of tree remarkable for its towering height – up to 130 feet (40 metres), for its buttress roots and for its straight and branchless trunk that opens up into a huge, spreading canopy.
CAZADEROS
Cazaderos Dry Forest Reserve protects Tumbesian forests of south-western Ecuador. With less than 5 percent of this forest type remaining, the expansion of the reserve is a conservation priority.
The forest in the reserve is in excellent condition due to its remoteness, but much of the forest outside protected areas has been lost. The forest faces many threats. Clearing the vegetation for corn cultivation, illegal logging, hunting and cattle damage, all put the integrity of the forest at risk.
In the Cazaderos Forest Reserve, Guayacan trees (Tabebuia chrysantha) provide an extraordinary annual spectacle at the turn of the year, when thousands of trees bloom simultaneously with bright yellow flowers.
Biodiversity
The reserves’ geophysical situation allows for the gradual flow of species and genes between the Pacific Coastal forests and those of the Andean Amazonian slopes to the east. This gradual mixing of flora and fauna over time influences the character of the native Tumbesian Dry Forests, resulting in the evolution of a more diverse variant of dry forest than found elsewhere across the Tumbes region.
The Catamayo Canyon is classified by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area, and is home to 14 bird species on IUCN’s Red List of threatened species including Grey-cheeked Parakeet (Brotogeris pyrrhopterus) and Blackish-headed Spinetail (Sinallaxis tithys). The area also protects populations of Rufous-headed Chachalaca (Ortalis erytrhoptera), Henna-hooded Foliage-gleaner (Hylocryptus erytrhocephalus) and Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner (Syndactyla ruficollis).
Mammals recorded include White-lipped Peccary (Tayassu tajacu), White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Puma (Puma concolor), Sechuran Fox (Lycalopex sechurae) and Neotropical River Otter (Lontra longicaudis).
An endemic subspecies of Boa Constrictor, which is highly threatened, is also present in Laipuna
Global Prioritization
The Catamayo Canyon is classified by Birdlife International as an Important Bird Area, and is home to 14 bird species on IUCN’s Red List of threatened species.
Local communities
NCE has developed good relations with local farmers and residents in the area purchased with funds from WLT’s Carbon Balanced programme.
Through dialogue and consultation it has become clear that locals are reluctant to clear forest, but that economic pressure is driving them to do so. With NCE’s support the farmers have started a conservation group to sustainably manage areas of forest outside the reserve, which is relieving pressure on forest inside the reserve.
This is an area in which NCEcuador works closely with the local residents under a co-management conservation strategy supporting a range of sustainable projects. This grassroots approach promotes the economic well-being of local community members while simultaneously protecting the ecosystem.
