Awacachi Corridor, Ecuador - Project Update Feb 2008

Unique Ecuadorian forest, Juan Pablo Moreiras / Fauna & Flora International The Awacachi Corridor, in the north west of Ecuador, is a genuinely unique landscape at real threat of destruction by palm oil cultivation and logging activities.  Your sponsorship is working at the front-line of deforestation to ensure its sustainability.  Cool Earth is supporting local partners to secure unique forests and invest in sustainable livelihoods projects on the ground which value forest conservation.  

Sustainable livelihoods

Harvesting cacao, Evan Bowen-Jones/Fauna & Flora International We have to accept that unsustainable forest use can provide incomes for local people. For long-term conservation to work, it has to secure local livelihoods and improve wellbeing. On all its projects Cool Earth is working with partners to develop and/or support sustainable livelihoods. In the Awacachi Corridor this means supporting native bamboo production, cacao growing and handcraft training - activities that encourage rainforest protection and reduce pressure on resources in pristine forest.  Working with local communities generates genuine support for conservation efforts: 

• Since the end of 2007 four hectares of guadua (native bamboo) have been planted in degraded areas surrounding the Awacachi Corridor to provide alternative income to the local people.  This will be harvested to make handicrafts and for use as a construction material for marketable products such as furniture.  A strong material, people have  even been known to build bridges with it in neighbouring Colombia.  The income generated promotes forest preservation rather than destruction as it reduces dependence on materials and timber from the Corridor.  Three more hectares of guadua are due to be planted by March 2008.
• Local communities are currently waiting for the second harvest of aromatic cacao - used to make chocolate - which grows in the shade of the rainforest.  This is highly significant as for the first time there will be a large enough crop to sell the cacao commercially. Cool Earth partners, working with the local organisation Fundación Sirua, began this work in 2004 and to date 40 hectares of aromatic cacao have been planted.  Your support will contribute to this ongoing activity, reducing pressure on intact forest.
• With our partner Fauna and Flora International and Fundación Sirua, we are supporting a women's group called "Grupo la Chiquita", providing tools and training in handicraft production using guadua.  There are currently 12 women involved.

For 2008, along with our local partners, we hope to expand alternative livelihood activities to neighbouring communities - at their request. Expansion plans include the establishment of a further 20 hectares of shade cacao plantations and a further 30 hectares of native bamboo, depending on the funding received.

Forest protection

Awacachi at dusk, Juan Pablo Moreiras/Fauna & Flora International The Awacachi Corridor is protected by a system of community rangers to act as a front line defence against illegal activities, as well as to support biological monitoring and community relationships.  Rangers receive regular training in a variety of issues, such as patrol methods, community relationships, eco-tourism and biological monitoring.

The picture below shows seven local community rangers who are responsible for patrolling and protecting the Awacachi area and surveying its wildlife.  With the threat from logging growing, your sponsorship is supporting this group of rangers and will help to expand the number of rangers in 2008 to provide further protection to the forest you have helped secure. 

Environmental education and awareness

The secret to sustainable forest protection is ensuring local communities benefit from conservation and see for themselves the value of pristine rainforest.  That's why we will support Fauna and Flora International and local Ecuadorian organisation Fundación Sirua (FS) to establish a permanent and long-term environmental educational and awareness programme targeting communities surrounding the Awacachi Corridor and the locality of San Lorenzo.

Activities will be implemented by a highly experienced environmental educator with proven experience in environmental campaigns, especially in the Corridor area. Initially, the activities will encompass visits to the relevant schools and communities and the development of booklets and posters adapted for various key audiences.

Within a year the plan is to include the development of other materials (e.g. videos) and methods (e.g. puppet theatre, radio spots, comic strips) as appropriate and as identified during the implementation of the programme.  All of these materials and methods will have the direct input from the students and community members involved.