Restoring and Conserving Eastern-Andes Cloud Forests in Ecuador

Conservation of the Eastern-Andes Cloud Forest in Ecuador through reinforcement planting of five threatened tree species

Partner: Foundation Aliados and Cayambe-Coca National Park Authority (PNCC – Southern Flank)
Years: 2021-2024

This project aims to apply an integrated approach that includes forest restoration with locally-propagated native and at-risk species alongside sustainable agroforestry to strengthen existing protected areas, promote the creation of new protected areas, and improve local livelihoods in the Andean cloud forest ecosystem.

Pâturage devant le Parc National de Cayambe-Coca

The Andean cloud forest ecosystem is a major global conservation priority owing to biological richness, high level of species endemism and a variety of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, the cloud forests on the eastern Andes flank are being severally degraded by clearcutting (for livestock and pasture), putting threatened tree species at greater risk.

As such, this project aims to apply an integrated approach that includes forest restoration with native and at-risk species (Ceroxylum alpinum, EN; Ceroxylon echinulatum, VU; Cedrela odorata, VU; Hyeronima oblonga, VU, and Juglans neotropica, EN) alongside sustainable agroforestry to strengthen existing protected areas, promote the creation of new protected areas, and improve local livelihoods in the Andean cloud forest ecosystem. To do so, the presence, ecology and population size of the targeted species will be monitored and over 150 hectares of degraded forests will be restored while demonstrating a replicable model that should provide significant alternative livelihoods for more than 20 local families who depend on these forests.