Yanacocha Reserve plays an essential role for the protection of the cloud forests present in northern Ecuador. Yanacocha covers an area of 1,200 hectares, and is located at an elevation of 3200-4500 m on the slopes of Pichincha Volcano, just 15 kilometers from the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. The proximity to the urban center is an added element of risk for the reserve: urban expansion and roads facilitate logging activities.
The biome is the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest, and the ecoregion is dominated by the Andean Montane forest. The habitat is therefore characterized by Montane forests, with Polylepis woodland, elfin forest and paramo grassland at high altitudes of the Andes.
Yanacocha is an important carbon sink, counting approximately 443 t and 520t of CO2e per hectare in the cloud forest and páramo, respectively, thereby protecting 550,000 tons of CO2e in above ground biomass.
Because of the severe logging prior to the establishment of the reserve, the regeneration activities, combined with the protection of the reserve, allow the removal of carbon from the atmosphere through natural regeneration and reforestation.
The Reserve serves as habitat for the endangered Black-breasted Puffleg, an hummingbird whose habitat range is restricted to the Pichincha Volcano but is home to a wide variety of biodiversity, including species at risk of extinction: the Andean Condor, the Imperial Snipe, the Giant Conebill, Pumas and the Spectacled Bear.
The Problem:
During the past decade this area of the Andes has been subject to severe deforestation, in order to clear space for pasturing. Presently, very few patches of forest remain, and the loss of these habitats threatens the survival of various different species.
Your Support:
In order to block further deforestation and protect the threatened habitat we are working on a habitat restoration program that involves the reforestation of some pastures in the lower part of the reserve, as well as some high areas that were burned in past decades. This program includes the planting of thousands of young Polylepis trees and other native species.
Project Partner:
Fundación Jocotoco is an Ecuadorian conservation non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1998. It is dedicated to protecting Ecuador's most threatened habitats and species through the establishment and management of strict nature reserves, reforestation, restoration of degraded wetlands, and environmental education programs. The organization is committed to the conservation of Ecuador's biodiversity and has been successful in promoting the recovery of several endangered species. Fundación Jocotoco also owns eco-tourism lodges and a tourism company that helps finance its conservation efforts.