Posted on December, 16 2002

WWF yesterday recognised the conservation efforts made by local governments and the rural communities of Baños, Mera, and Palora in central Ecuador — who have committed to protect and sustainably manage a 42,052-hectare ecological corridor between the Llanganates and Sangay National Parks — as a Gift to the Earth, WWF’s highest accolade for applauding a significant contribution to the protection of the living world. The ecological corridor is not only rich in flora and fauna, but provides a route through which plants and animals can move from one national park to the other. The corridor is also home to rural communities, which depend on the land and forest for their survival. The communities are enthusiastic about the initiative, and are changing management practices in the corridor by adopting organic agricultural techniques and developing ecotourism. Three-quarters of the ecological corridor has natural mountain forest vegetation, typical of the northern and central branches of the eastern Andes. The corridor is home to 242 bird species, of which 30 per cent are sensitive to habitat disturbance, and 101 mammal species, of which 21 are endangered. Of particular note are the 55 species of bats , which are currently threatened by unregulated activities in the corridor. In addition, the Pastaza river basin has 195 endemic species of plants, of which 184 are endemic to one particular zone. The plant species include 91 endemic species of orchids, 48 of which are new to science and 35 of which only occur in the corridor. Llanganates National Park, created in 1996, covers nearly 220,000 hectares in the provinces of Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Napo, and Pastaza. The altitude ranges from 1200 to 4638 metres. The park is home to trees such as alder, cinnamon, motilón, pumamaqui, myrtle, and cedar, and animals such as mountain guinea pigs, possums, gazelles, mountain tapirs, paramo wolves, spectacled bears, rock roosters, ocelots, deer, and condors. Sangay National Park, created in 1979, covers some 517,000 hectares in the provinces of Tungurahua, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Morona Santiago. It comprises ten life zones, with altitudes ranging from 900 meters in the Amazon tropical rain forest up to 5400 meters above sea level in the frozen heights of the Andes.The park hosts at least 21 per cent of Ecuador’s bird species and has a high degree of endemic amphibian species. It is also home to the spectacled bear and the paper-bark tree. Due to Sangay’s wealth and importance, it merited UNESCO’s 1983 declaration as Natural Heritage of Humankind. WWF’s Forests for Life Programme has been working with local communities, such as those in Ecuador, to promote the need to protect, sustainably manage, and restore their forest landscape through the Community Protected Areas scheme. WWF is currently working with other local people around the world, in countries as diverse as Mexico and Madagascar, to promote Community Protected Areas and strengthen local people’s role in protecting forests for conservation and livelihood benefits. The ecological corridor project was initiated by Fundacion Natura, WWF's associate in Ecuador, the municipalities of Baños, Mera, and Palora, the parish board of Rio Negro, and the Ministry of Environment. For more information Isabel Iturralde Fundación Natura - Ecuador Tel.: +593 2 250 33 85 al 94 ext. 325 E-mail: iiturralde@fnatura.org.ec Tori Lyall WWF’s Forests for Life programme Tel.: +44 777 1818 693 E-mail: tlyall@wwf.org.uk