Connecting Coastal Forest in Ecuador

Coastal Ecuador represents one of the most biologically important yet threatened ecosystems in all of Latin America. Located within the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena Biodiversity Hotspot at the nexus of some of the wettest forests in the world (Chocó rainforests) and the last remaining fragments of coastal dry forests of South America, it is one of the 25 most important concentrations of biodiversity on the planet. Unfortunately, recent reports estimate that approximately 98% of native forest cover on the coast of Ecuador has been lost to deforestation and other human activities, making it one of the most severely threatened areas on earth in terms of biological extinction. This project funded the acquisition of a 102 hectare parcel that contains intact, highland forest, and lowland humid forest.