From May 29th to June 1st 2025, in the towns of Cotacachi and Intag in the northern Ecuadorian Andes, various conservation stakeholders from across Ecuador participated in a workshop focused on Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas (ACUS), a subnational conservation figure in Ecuador administered at the provincial and municipal level.
Read MoreThe new Pasaje Municipal Conservation and Sustainable Use Area (Area Municipal de Conservacion y Uso Sustentable – ACMUS Pasaje) protects 44,326 acres (17,938 hectares) of Andean-Coastal transition ecosystems in El Oro, Ecuador. In addition to protecting important forests, Pasaje protects the lower Casacay River basin, a keystone for regional water security and essential source of drinking water for the cantons of Pasaje, El Guabo, and Machala.
Read MoreOn April 9th, 2025, the Municipal Government of Chilla, in the El Oro province of Ecuador, moved to protect 47,561 acres (19,247 hectares) of montane cloud forests and páramos by establishing the Chilla Municipal Conservation and Sustainable Use Area (Área de Conservación Municipal de Uso Sustentable).
Read MoreOn July 26th, 2024, the “24 de Mayo” Municipal Conservation Area (Area de Conservacion y Uso Sustentable) was established spanning 37,019 acres (14,981 hectares) of important water sources and biodiverse tropical forests in the province of Manabí, Ecuador.
Read MoreOn November 13, 2024, the Machángara-Tomebamba Wildlife Refuge, part of the National System of Protected Areas of Ecuador, was expanded by 41,667 acres (16,862 hectares) protecting fragile high Andean ecosystems in Ecuador’s provinces of Azuay and Cañar. This expansion ensures the conservation of the region’s ecological connectivity.
Read MoreIn Ecuador’s Central Andes, where páramo wetlands flourish under the watchful gaze of Andean condors and rivers carve through mountains, a group of communities and local leaders, led by Chimborazo’s provincial government, decided to take conservation action. On November 21, 2024, Chimborazo’s provincial government established the Urcu Yaku Kamak Provincial Conservation and Sustainable Use Area spanning 52,681 acres (21,319 hectares) of biodiverse high altitude páramo wetlands and Andean forests.
Read MoreAndes Amazon Fund celebrates the latest expansion of the Río Negro Sopladora – Tinajillas Río Gualaceño National Park by 79,362 acres (32,117 hectares) on November 13, 2024. The National Park will now safeguard over 162,741 acres (65,859 hectares) of fragile montane ecosystems in the province of Morona Santiago, Ecuador, including páramos, mountain forests and rivers along Ecuador’s southeastern Andes and upper Amazon rainforest.
Read MoreJunín is home to remarkable biodiversity, including the vulnerable black-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps) and the Esmeraldas woodstar (Chaetocercus berlepschi), a rare, tropical hummingbird found only in this region. On December 16, 2024, the Junín Municipal Conservation and Sustainable Use Area was officially established, representing a significant milestone in protecting the ecosystems and water resources of the Manabí Province of Ecuador.
Read MoreWe are thrilled to announce the creation of five new municipal conservation areas in the coastal province of Manabí, Ecuador spanning a combined total of 596,589 acres (241,431 hectares).
Read MoreThe Balsas municipal conservation area protects critical areas of evergreen forest, both in the piedmont and seasonal tropical forest zones of the Catamayo-Alamor ecosystem, a habitat for species such as the yellow-rumped toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) and the screaming momot (Momotus subrufescens).
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