New Reserve in Ecuador Spares Rare Tropical Deciduous Forest

The 25-year conservation agreement between Ecuadorian landowner, Lalo Loor, and the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation protects rare tropical deciduous forest in a new biological reserve.

CHICAGO, IL (PRWEB) June 13, 2004 -- With only two percent of tropical deciduous forest remaining in Ecuador, the recent conservation agreement signed between Ecuadorian landowner Lalo Loor and the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation, represents an important step in the protection of this unique ecosystem. Ceiba, a U.S.-based non profit, has joined forces with the Ecuadorian Jatun Sacha Foundation to establish the Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve (Bosque Seco Lalo Loor), preserving 500 acres of tropical deciduous forest and saving its rare plants and animals from extinction.

The land is one of the finest examples of coastal semi-deciduous forest remaining in Ecuador," says Catherine Woodward, president of Ceiba. Many plants and animals are endemic to the region -- existing nowhere else -- including several threatened species such as the Red-masked Parakeet, Gray-backed Hawk, and Little Woodstar. A biological station and interpretive trail system will be constructed for students, researchers and the general public. This region of Ecuador is likely to see an increase in tourism over the next several years, and we hope to set a precedent for conservation before development takes off," explains Woodward.

What excites us are the new partnerships we have been able to form with private landowners," says Ceibas vice-president Joe Meisel. Where previously landowners were only involved until their land is sold, Lalo Loor represents long term conservation involving a landowner that has a stake in the area for future generations."

In an era when protection of rainforest is fashionable, other tropical habitats often are overlooked. Although the lowland rainforest is an indisputable treasure-trove of biological diversity, habitats such as high elevation cloud forests, lowland dry forest, grasslands and deserts also possess astonishing levels of diversity. Indeed, many of these habitats are disappearing at rates that far exceed figures for the true rainforest, and in the case of the deciduous tropical forest only a fraction of the original habitat remains. Deciduous forests are distinguished from rainforests by having a distinct and prolonged dry season during which most or all of the trees lose their leaves. These forests historically spanned much of Ecuadors coastline, but were almost completely destroyed over the past 30 years for cattle ranching, shrimping and plantations of banana and oil palm.

Much of the Ecuadors dry forests remain only on private land. Like many landowners, Lalo Loor has a growing concern for his countrys natural heritage. These forests have a fundamental ecological and social value in the region... It is important to recognize that these forests are the source of fresh water that benefits people that live here," Loor recently wrote. Landowners like Loor have a vital role to play as goodwill ambassadors who can influence their community and spread the word for organizations like Ceiba.

Ceiba, a non profit conservation organization based in Chicago, has pursued a strategy distinguished by its emphasis on local ownership and empowerment. In 2000, the foundation signed a landmark conservation easement to protect 1500 acres of privately held cloud forest in the Ecuadorian Andes, the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve. Now four years on, that reserve has become a successful ecotourism destination.

Ceibas plans for the coastal dry forest extend beyond the new Lalo Loor reserve. Through a series of conservation agreements and reforestation programs, Ceiba plans to create a biological corridor large enough to sustain the unique flora and fauna of the region. The Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve, which protects the finest habitat remnant in the area, will anchor the corridor, expected to span the entire northern half of the Manabí province.

In an increasingly inhabited landscape, Ceiba sees the importance of encouraging people to embrace native habitat. It is not just about buying and setting aside land; ultimately a strategy for land purchase will run out of gas," explains Joe Meisel. We are looking at a future where we are trying to protect as much total area as possible, including small patches in private ownership." Conservationists at Ceiba contend that unless landowners become actively engaged in conservation, continued destruction of remaining habitat areas and the species within them is inevitable

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