Conservation International Ecuador
Conservación Internacional Ecuador | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | CI Ecuador |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2001 |
| Type | Country programme |
| Headquarters | Ecuador (offices in Quito, Guayaquil, Coca and Puyo) |
Region served | Ecuador |
| Fields | Biodiversity conservation; protected areas; oceans; climate resilience; sustainable land management |
Parent organization | Conservation International |
| Website | ecuador |
Conservation International Ecuador (CI Ecuador; Spanish: Conservación Internacional Ecuador) is the Ecuador country programme of Conservation International. Conservation International established its Ecuador country programme in 2001 and has offices in Quito, Guayaquil, Coca, and Puyo.[1][2]
CI Ecuador works in the Galápagos Islands and on mainland Ecuador on biodiversity conservation, protected-area management, marine and coastal conservation, and climate resilience, including work supported through multilateral funding arrangements such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).[3][4][5][6] Work has also included community-based conservation in Indigenous territories and participation in Ecuador's Socio Bosque programme.[7]
History
Conservation International established its Ecuador country programme in 2001 and developed a national presence through offices in Quito, Guayaquil, Coca, and Puyo.[1][2]
During the 2010s, CI Ecuador took roles in conservation programming financed by the Global Environment Facility, including work in the Galápagos focused on biosecurity and ecosystem restoration and work on implementation of Ecuador's mainland marine and coastal protected areas network strategic plan.[3][4][8]
In the 2020s, CI Ecuador participated in national and regional initiatives linked to marine conservation in the eastern tropical Pacific and coastal climate resilience in Ecuador's mangrove systems, including a Green Climate Fund project approved in July 2024 with Conservation International Foundation as the accredited entity.[9][5][6]
Activities by location
National programme
CI Ecuador maintains offices in Quito and Guayaquil as part of its national programme presence and partner engagement in Ecuador.[1][2] CI Ecuador operates a public contact and feedback channel (CI-Ecuador te Escucha) for requests, concerns, and complaints related to its work.[2]
Galápagos Islands
Conservation International has served as the GEF project agency for Safeguarding biodiversity in the Galapagos Islands by enhancing biosecurity and creating the enabling environment for the restoration of Galapagos Island ecosystems.[3] The project is designed to strengthen biosecurity across the archipelago and support ecosystem-recovery measures, including invasive-vertebrate eradication on Floreana Island and the translocation of giant tortoises to Santa Fe Island.[3] The project cost is about US$21.8 million, including a GEF grant and cofinancing from Galápagos institutions and partners involved in protected-area management and biosecurity.[10]
Plastic pollution and other marine debris are persistent pressures on Galápagos beaches despite local restrictions on single-use plastics and recurring clean-up campaigns. In 2024, Conservation International's Galápagos programme manager described coastal sites used by marine wildlife being affected by plastic debris (including bottles and fishing gear) and said the accumulation is continuous because waste is carried to the archipelago by ocean currents and discarded at sea by fishing vessels.[11]
Ecuadorian Amazon
CI Ecuador maintains offices in Coca and Puyo.[1][2]
Conservación Internacional Ecuador participated in the technical team for Ecuador's Amazon regional planning process, the Plan Integral para la Amazonía 2021-2035, alongside public institutions, academia, and other civil-society organisations, and has supported community-based conservation in Indigenous territories.[12][7] Work in Ecuador's Socio Bosque programme included support for documentation and participatory processes with five Achuar communities (including Mashientz and Kapawari) seeking to enter the programme and define areas to conserve.[7]
Mainland marine and coastal areas
On mainland Ecuador, work associated with implementing the strategic plan for Ecuador's mainland marine and coastal protected areas network (Spanish: Red de Áreas Marinas y Costeras Protegidas; Red AMCP) has focused on strengthening protected-area management and enabling conditions for marine and coastal biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. The strategic-plan initiative has been framed around implementation across a network of 19 marine and coastal protected areas covering about 679,295 hectares (6,793 km2), alongside actions aimed at strengthening integrated network management and improving ecosystem connectivity.[4][8] It has a total project cost of about US$39.7 million, including a GEF grant component.[4]
CI Ecuador has participated in regional marine-conservation discussions linked to the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (Corredor Marino del Pacífico Este Tropical, CMAR), which connects marine protected areas including the Galápagos Marine Reserve and other eastern tropical Pacific reserves. CI Ecuador's executive director described CMAR as being established by a 2004 declaration and as aiming to conserve biodiversity and support sustainable use of marine and coastal resources across participating countries' exclusive economic zones.[9]
The GCF project Mangroves for climate: Public, Private and Community Partnerships for Mitigation and Adaptation in Ecuador addresses climate risks in coastal regions and mangrove loss pressures associated with shrimp farming and coastal development.[5][6] The project is designed to engage local communities and the private sector in restoration and sustainable mangrove management, support community-based mangrove governance, and promote shrimp-aquaculture standards and supply-chain measures aimed at reducing mangrove conversion and supporting reforestation through results-based payments and governance measures.[5][6]
References
- ^ a b c d "¿Quiénes somos?". Conservación Internacional Ecuador (in Spanish).
- ^ a b c d e "CI-Ecuador te Escucha". Conservación Internacional Ecuador (in Spanish).
- ^ a b c d GEF Project Document: Safeguarding biodiversity in the Galapagos Islands by enhancing biosecurity and creating the enabling environment for the restoration of Galapagos Island ecosystems (PDF) (Report). Conservation International (CI-GEF Project Agency). September 2018. pp. 1–2, 6.
- ^ a b c d "Implementation of the Strategic Plan of Ecuador Mainland Marine and Coastal Protected Areas Network (GEF Project 9369)". IW:LEARN.
- ^ a b c d "FP235: Mangroves for climate: Public, Private and Community Partnerships for Mitigation and Adaptation in Ecuador". Green Climate Fund. 16 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d Funding proposal package for FP235: Mangroves for climate: Public, Private and Community Partnerships for Mitigation and Adaptation in Ecuador (PDF) (Report). Green Climate Fund.
- ^ a b c Arellano, Astrid (4 September 2023). "Día Internacional de la Mujer Indígena: la lideresa achuar que logró la protección de 50 000 hectáreas de bosque en Ecuador". GK (in Spanish).
- ^ a b "Inicia el Proyecto de Red de Áreas Marinas y Costeras Protegidas". Proyecto Red de Áreas Marinas y Costeras Protegidas del Ecuador (in Spanish). 8 August 2018.
- ^ a b Montaño, Doménica (4 November 2021). "La Declaración para la Conservación del Corredor Marino del Pacífico Este Tropical, explicada". GK (in Spanish).
- ^ GEF Project Document (ProDoc) - Ecuador (GEF ID 9282): Salvaguardando la biodiversidad en las Islas Galápagos fomentando la bioseguridad y creando las condiciones habilitantes para la restauración de los ecosistemas de las Islas Galápagos (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Conservation International (CI-GEF Project Agency). September 2018. pp. 59–60, 70–71.
- ^ "'Currents bring life - and plastics': animals of Galápagos live amid mounds of waste". The Guardian. 23 April 2024.
- ^ Plan Integral para la Amazonía 2021-2035 (PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Secretaría Técnica de la Circunscripción Territorial Especial Amazónica. 2021. p. 3.