CANANDÉ
43,000 acres protected
PARTNER: FUNDACIÓN JOCOTOCO, ECUADOR
The Chocó forests of northwest Ecuador form part of one of the ten most important biodiversity hotspots globally. While the Chocó is almost as diverse as the much better-known Amazon basin, it is far more threatened by rapid deforestation.
Gastrotheca cornuta, Critically Endangered, Canandé Reserve
“This particular conservation opportunity is just about as important as any that has arisen in the past century”
Nigel Collar, Leventis Fellow with BirdLife International
Brown-headed Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps) Critically Endangered, Canandé Reserve
The Ecuadorian Chocó was entirely forested in 1938, but by 1988, only 50 years later, 95% of the forests in western Ecuador below 3,000 feet (900 m) had already disappeared. There is a consensus that less than 3% of western lowland forests of Ecuador remain, yet deforestation continues.
Our partner Jocotoco formulated a response to these threats by creating a corridor of protected areas and a buffer to the Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park. This corridor creates a contiguous conservation network spanning more than 1.2 million acres (500,000 ha). It also creates the only area in the western tropical Andes where the entire altitudinal range starting at 200 feet above sea level to more than 16,000 feet (50-4,900 m) in elevation is protected.