Contact Name: Silvia Benitez Contact the project owner using: ConPro's Form Emailer Contact Organization: The Nature Conservancy

Project Start Date: January 01, 2001 Data Effective Date: January 15, 2005 Sharing Status: This project may be shared outside of TNC.

Go To ·Objectives ·Targets ·Threats ·Strategies

Project Description:
The Nature Conservancy together with three local partners, Fundacion Antisana, EcoCiencia and Fundacion Ecologica Rumicocha, in close coordination with the Ministry of the Environment have been working in the Condor Bioreserve for several years.

The Condor Bioreserve (CBR) is an innovative conservation concept that seeks to link six protected areas and its buffer zones, under one management unit. This concept proposes to go beyond borders of protected areas, in order to capture biodiversity patterns. The areas under this unit share common environmental characteristics, and they comprise the upper watershed of the Napo river, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon river. The six protected areas are: Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve, Antisana Ecological Reserve, Cofn-Bermejo Reserve, Sumaco-Napo Galeras National Park, Cotopaxi National Park, and Llanganates National Park. The land that links these protected areas constitutes natural corridors which maintain connectivity of umbrella species like large carnivores.


Located in the North-eastern Andes of Ecuador, the Condor Bioreserve covers more than 21,000 square kilometers, and is located between 400 and 5,810 m. of altitude. The Condor Bioreserve holds an extraordinary biodiversity. Its location and environmental characteristics like altitudinal variation, climate patterns, the influence from the Amazon basin have resulted in an area with a very high concentration of biodiversity. Sixteen different vegetation types have been identified, ranging from paramo (high-montane grasslands), to cloud forests to foothill forests. More than 760 bird species, 150 mammal species and 110 amphibian species have been recorded. The area is very important for several threatened species that require large extensions of intact habitat for their survival, like the Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the Mountain or Wooly Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). With about 7% of the surface of the country yet holds almost half the number of species of birds and mammals found in Ecuador.

The Condor Bioreserve is a fascinating place, not only in terms of its biodiversity, but also in terms of the diversity of people and cultures found within it. Communities range from the peasant communities living on the highlands, to two ancestral communities "Oyacachi and Sinango"whose territory is within one of the protected areas of the CBR, to the colonos living in the lower part of the Condor Bioreserve. In the land between the protected areas several towns, villages and small communities are found, which approximately comprises 120,000 people. In addition to the people living inside the Condor Bioreserve, about 20% of the population (2 million habitants) of the country depend on environmental services and natural resources from this area, which makes a remarkable area for the welfare of the people and the economic development of the country.

The Condor Bioreserve has been chosen as a "Parks in Peril" site, a conservation program supported by USAID and The Nature Conservancy. Under this program TNC and its local partners within a close collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment have defined a common goal for this area for 2007: " To achieve a biodiversity conservation model based upon participative strategies that promote the sustainable development of human population".

The Condor Bioreserve project identified an array of conservation targets that represent biodiversity and threats of the area. The targets were chosen to represent different scales being careful to capture terrestrial as well as freshwater systems. Different scales of biological organization were captured by choosing ecosystems as the humid Paramo, as well as species as the Wooly Tapir. Also, different spatial scales were included

Project Goal Comment:
By 2007, achieve an integral management of four protected areas in the Condor Bioreserve ensuring conservation of biodiversity, reducing threats to conservation targets enhancing their viability in key areas outside protected areas and making sure that partners and key stakeholders are strengthened in their capacity of iimplementation of conservation strategies.

Team Info:
The Nature Conservancy:

Paulina Arroyo, Condor Bioreserve Project Coordinator, parroyo@q.tnc.org.ec
Silvia Benitez, Conservation Projects Coordinator, sbenitez@q.tnc.org.ec

Fundacion Antisana
Gustavo Mosquera, Technical Director

Fundacion Ecologica Rumicocha
Juan Colcha, PIP coordinator

EcoCiencia
Jaime Camacho, PIP coordinator

USAID
Douglas Mason

Results and Lessons Learned Summary:
By 2007, achieve an integral management of four protected areas in the Condor Bioreserve ensuring conservation of biodiversity, reducing threats to conservation targets enhancing their viability in key areas outside protected areas and making sure that partners and key stakeholders are strengthened in their capacity of implementation of conservation strategies.

^* For information on the common taxonomy of threats, see http://conservationmeasures.org/CMP/IUCN/.

1. Objective: 0.1. By 30 de september 2007, vegetation cover of 715836 hectares are maintained within protected areas of the CBR (RECAY, REA, Llanganates N.P., Cotopaxi N.P.) with a reduction of 6.25% of the rate of vegetation cover loss.
   1. Strategic Action: Implement a participatory patrolling program with at least 30 local communities and landowners near protected areas.
   2. Strategic Action: Demarcate and mantain intact 50 km of boundaries of Cayambe-Coca and Antisana Ecological Reserves of a total of 120 km of conflict, to detain the expansion of the agricultural frontier and inadequate forestry practices.
2. Objective: 0.2 By September 30, 2007, at least 4 connectivity areas (55,000 ha) that mantain quantity and quality of habitat between protected areas have been established and are working (RECAY-REA 20,000 ha, REA-PNLL 20,000 ha, northern zone of RECAY10,000 ha, REA
   1. Strategic Action: Establish conservation agreements with private land owners (communities and individuals) to create 4 connectivity areas critical for conservation targets and protected areas.
      • Action Step: Ellaborate biophysical and socio-economic characterization as well as legal analysis of connectivity areas identified.
      • Action Step: Establish management scheme for connectivity sites, including monitoring program
      • Action Step: Identify critical sites and priority watersheds for biodiversity conservation and the private and communal lands lying in these important areas for protected area connectivity
      • Action Step: Negotiate with landowners legal mechanisms for protection of 4 priority areas
   2. Strategic Action: Identify areas and watersheds critical for biodiversity conservation and the private and communal lands needed to establish connectivity between protected areas.
3. Objective: 0.3 By September 30, 2007 10.000 hectares are conserved in three critical area park in the buffer zones, maintaining vegetation cover and reducing the loss of natural vegetation.
   1. Strategic Action: Provide technical assitance on natural resource management and productive alternatives with local communities and private land owners.
   2. Strategic Action: Identify and implement incentives schemes for local landowners and communities to respect park limits and reduce agricultural expansion, especially in montane forest areas.
   3. Strategic Action: Promote active engagement of at least 4 local goverments to implement at least two environmental policies and support land-use planning that incorporates conservation areas, development and sustainable use of natural resources.
4. Objective: 0.4 By September 30, 2007 the impacts of at least 3 infrastructure projects on aquatic ecosystems and natural vegetation cover has been reduced (RECAY, REA, Llanganates National Park).
   1. Strategic Action: Coordinate with funding agencies the incorporation and control of environmental aspects in the construction and implementation of infrastructure projects that they fund.
   2. Strategic Action: Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of at least two infrastructure projects to determine added value of project compared to not developing the project or diverting it, especially for one water diversion project and one proposed road construction.
   3. Strategic Action: Create an advisory group for the top 3 critical infrastructure projects in the CBR, and develop strategy to incorporate environmental regulations and standards.
5. Objective: 0.5 By September 30 2007, 50% of andean bear conflict hunting has been reduced in three critical sites of the CBR: Oyacachi, Cosanga and Cuyuja.
   1. Strategic Action: Develop new schemes for reducing the incidence of bear attacks of cattle in key areas of the CBR, which may include ecotourism alternatives or other mechanisms to fund economic loss caused by attacks.
   2. Strategic Action: Work with private land owners and communities to reduce the elimination of Andean bears due to conflicts with cattle grazing, especially in Oyacachi, Juan Montalvo and Cosanga.
6. Objective: Capacity 1. By 30 September 2007, key stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Environment and other institutions, and partners will increase their capacity to implement conservation strategies.
   1. Strategic Action: Implement a socio-environmental monitoring and information system to ensure informed decisions on behalf of Ministry of Environment and other decision-makers.
   2. Strategic Action: Strengthen partners in technical aspects of conservation planning and development of conservation projects
   3. Strategic Action: Support the Ministry of the Environment in developing co-management policy to increase social participation protected area conservation.
7. Objective: Capacity 2. By September 30, 2007, legislation and policy on biodiversity and infrastructure projects are strengthened by developing two national proposals.
   1. Strategic Action: Support a national debate on the current and proposed biodiversity legislation for Ecuador, amongst various stakeholders.
8. Objective: Capacity 3. By September 30, 2007, the financial sustainability of CBR partners has been strengthened by reducing their dependence of USAID funds to 60%.
   1. Strategic Action: Support institutional strengthening of PiP partners on themes such as strategic planning, project design and management, financial mechanisms, and monitoring.
9. Objective: Capacity 4. By September 30, 2007, partners are strengthened in technical, administrative and financial skills, achieving a 100% of the financial monitoring requirements and acheiving a score of more than 90% in the Institutional Self-Evaluation tool.
   1. Strategic Action: Strengthen partners in financial and administrative issues using the Self-Assessment tool developed by TNC
   2. Strategic Action: Strengthen partners in technical aspects of conservation planning and development of conservation projects
10. Objective: Capacity 5. By September 30, 2007, there is an increase in the investment in critical areas of CBR from financial mechanisms (such as FONAG capital $1.8 million/ investing $250,000, FAN increases 10% of financial inputs/supporting 2 P.A. in CBR).
    1. Strategic Action: Increase income in key protected areas of the CBR from tourism.
    2. Strategic Action: Work with Fondo Ambiental Nacional (FAN) on institutional strengthening and financial projections to secure additional funding for protected areas.
    3. Strategic Action: Strengthen FONAG's capacity to leverage more funds for projects in critical watersheds.
    4. Strategic Action: Support the Ministry of the Environment to develop a financial strategy for the Protected Areas System with financial plans for at least 3 areas of the CBR.