Buenaventura

The aim here is to help restore threatened low-altitude cloud forest to support a viable population of the endangered El Oro Parakeet. This effectively protects the habitat of another 40 species of birds whose status is of conservation concern; it also protects a wide range of endemic and endangered plants.

Tree planting, Carrion Estate, linking relic forest patches for the endangered El Oro Parakeet.

Family nursery for tree planting project, Buenaventura, Ecuador.

Recently the WLT made an important contribution to the purchase of a 240 ha property strategically placed to secure a corridor used by the parakeets to reach an adjacent forest block upslope of the existing reserve managed by Fundación Jocotoco. Some 200 ha of this corridor consists of open pasture which is now being planted up with over 10 native species – a mix of fast-growing pioneers and slower-growing mature forest trees - with a target of 340,000 planted over three years here and in adjoining parcels. The nurseries give a good supplementary income (US$2,000-5,000 p.a. each) to local rural families, and the reforestation protects part of the water supply of the nearby town of Piñas.

Cloud forest degraded through grazing pressure, Buenaventura, Ecuador.

Selection of native seedlings for the tree planting project Buenaventura, Ecuador.

Reserve Map

Buenaventura reserve map. View larger version of reserve map