In Ecuador, nine projects receive support from Conserva Aves to protect 143,000 hectares.

In Ecuador, nine projects receive support from Conserva Aves to protect 143,000 hectares.

-The following local organizations have been selected: Corporación BYOS, Fundación Arcoíris, Fundación Bomaco, Fundación EcoMinga, Fundación Alotrópico, Fundación Otonga, and Ecopar to implement these projects.

-The protected areas include various conservation categories such as OMECs (Other Effective Conservation Measures), Private Protection Areas (APP), and TICCA Territories (Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous and Local Communities).

-The funds come from Conserva Aves, led by American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, BirdLife International, Birds Canada, and RedLAC, with support from Bezos Earth Fund in Ecuador.

Conserva Aves is an initiative dedicated to the integral and effective conservation of nature, adapting to the particularities of each territory to sustainably create and manage subnational protected areas. Its main focus is the protection of threatened birds, both endemic and migratory, along with their habitats and the communities that depend on them.

The Sustainable Environmental Investment Fund (FIAS), Ecuador’s financial mechanism for environmental management and a national partner of the Conserva Aves initiative in Ecuador, signed an agreement that enabled the launch of the first call for proposals in the country to fund projects focused on creating or expanding protected areas sustainably.

After a rigorous evaluation of the applications received in this public call, the FIAS internal commission and the technical commission—composed of representatives from BirdLife International, the Ecuadorian Foundation for the Research and Conservation of Birds and Their Habitats, and the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition—announced the selected organizations.

The chosen proposals stand out for offering innovative solutions to conserve key habitats in various regions of the country, through the creation of subnational protected areas and the development of strategies for their long-term sustainability.

Thanks to these projects, more than 143,000 hectares in nine provinces of Ecuador will be protected.

The newly selected local partners to implement the Conserva Aves initiative in Ecuador are:

 

Corporación BYOS / Intag-Toisán

• Protected hectares: 5,238.51
• Objective: Establish the OMEC Intag-Toisán area in 6,000 hectares under legal protection schemes.
• Location: Imbabura Province, Cotacachi Canton.

 

Corporación BYOS / Archidona

• Protected hectares: 11,949.03
• Objective: Increase conservation areas with legal protection to preserve critical biodiversity habitats.
• Location: Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, west of Antisana National Park and Colonso Chalupas Ecological Reserve.

 

Fundación Arcoíris

• Protected hectares: 7,947.37
• Objective: Expand and declare the Conservation and Sustainable Use Area (ACUS) of the Morona canton and advance its recognition as OMEC.
• Location: Morona Canton.

 

Fundación Bomaco

• Protected hectares: 19,546.18
  Objective: Create the Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas (ACUS) in Chone, Tosagua, Manta, and Bolívar, and extend the ACUS in San Vicente.
  Location: San Vicente, Chone, Tosagua, Sucre, Bolívar cantons, and a small area in Manta.

 

Fundación EcoMinga / Drácula

• Protected hectares: 1,793.76
• Objective: Establish OMECs in the Drácula Reserves.
• Location: Carchi Province, northwest of Tulcán Canton.

 

Fundación EcoMinga / Machay

• Protected hectares: 1,162.43
• Objective: Establish the Private Protection Area (APP) in the Machay Reserve.
• Location: Tungurahua Province, Baños de Agua Santa Canton, Río Verde parish.

 

Fundación Alotrópico

• Protected hectares: 72,044.78
• Objective: Constitute a protected area under the TICCA Life Territory category, with its own governance and territorial management mechanisms, to conserve habitats of threatened, endemic, and migratory bird species in the Awá territory.
• Location: 1) Esmeraldas, San Lorenzo Canton, 2) Carchi, Tulcán Canton, 3) Imbabura, Ibarra and Urcuquí cantons.

 

Fundación Otonga

• Protected hectares:61
• Objective: Legally protect the Otonga Integral Forest.
• Location: Cotopaxi and Santo Domingo provinces.

 

Ecopar

• Protected hectares: 22,357.49
• Objective: Promote the establishment of a conservation area to safeguard the habitat of the red-headed parrot (Psittacara erythrogenys) and other bird species in the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) Tiquibuzo.
• Location: Bolívar Province, Chillanes Canton, covering part of the cantonal head and the San José del Tambo parish.

 

The resources to finance these proposals come from the Conserva Aves initiative, regionally led by American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, Birds Canada, and RedLAC. National partners are Aves y Conservación / BirdLife in Ecuador and the Sustainable Environmental Investment Fund (FIAS), the leading execution partners in the country with the support of Bezos Earth Fund.

Thanks to these strategic alliances and collective commitment, sustainability for biodiversity and Ecuadorian communities is being promoted.