Few studies exist that document how high-elevation Andean ecosystems recover naturally after the cessation of human activities and this can limit the implementation of cost-effective restoration actions. We assessed Andean forest (Polylepis stands) and páramo grassland recovery along an elevation gradient (3,600–4,350 m.a.s.l.) in the Yanacocha Reserve (Ecuador) where natural …
Chevron Corp persuaded a federal appeals court on Monday to block enforcement in the United States of an $8.65 billion Ecuadorean pollution judgment that it said, and which the court agreed, was obtained through bribery and fraud. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld a lower court …
As palm oil production expands from Southeast Asia into tropical regions of the Americas and Africa, vulnerable forests and species on four continents face increased risk of loss, a new Duke University-led study finds. The largest areas of vulnerable forest are in Africa and South America, where more than 30 …
Ecuador last week paid Chevron Corp. $112 million in an arbitration case dating back to the 1970s. The accord, while dealing with obscure contractual matters, could have ramifications for bigger court fights between the two fierce adversaries. The government of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has taken an extremely hostile stance …
A shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck Ecuador's northwest coast on Sunday, in the region of April's deadly quake, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake was centred near the town of Esmeraldas, northwest of the capital Quito, at a depth of about 35 km (22 miles), …
BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The United Nations has raised its 2016 humanitarian funding appeal to a record $21.6 billion from $19.7 billion, partly due to new disasters including a cyclone that battered Fiji and an earthquake that hit Ecuador, as well as the deepening impact of El Nino. The …
The waters flowing through Estero Salado, a river delta in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, can be deceptive, even for those who have lived their entire lives alongside the filthy and meandering estuarine network. “We know the water is not clean, but you build up a tolerance,” says 21-year-old local activist …
A hominin in the same genus as humans and an ape nicknamed "Laia" that might provide clues to the origin of humans are among the discoveries identified by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) as the Top 10 New Species of 2016. The list also includes a …
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Ecuador's coast overnight in the same zone where a 7.8 tremor killed more than 650 people last month. There was no report of significant damage from Wednesday's quake, which cut electricity in some coastal areas and sent people running into the streets as far away …
QUITO – The death toll from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit Ecuador’s north coast on April 16 has risen to 659, the National Risk Management Secretariat, or SNGR, said. A total of 29,067 people are still being housed in shelters and 40 others are listed as missing, the secretariat said. …
UNITED NATIONS – The magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck Ecuador’s northern Pacific coast on April 16 destroyed 280 schools, leaving 120,000 children without access to education, UNICEF said Tuesday. UNICEF said it is helping the Ecuadorian government to install 50 temporary school buildings to accommodate roughly 20,000 children in the worst-affected …
A week after Ecuador's devastating earthquake, President Rafael Correa has said the number of fatalities has risen to 646. President Correa said that another 130 people were still missing. He announced eight days of national mourning for the victims of the worst tragedy to hit the South American nation in …
Rescuers in Ecuador were losing hope on Tuesday of finding more survivors from an earthquake that killed nearly 500 people and dealt a shattering blow to the South American OPEC country's already fragile economy. Praying for miracles, distraught family members beseeched rescue teams to find missing loved ones as they …
Touring a city ravaged by the earthquake that killed at least 413 people, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Monday said rebuilding would cost billions of dollars and may inflict a "huge" toll on the fragile OPEC nation's economy. Two days after the magnitude 7.8 quake, traumatized survivors begged Correa for …
At least 272 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1,500 people injured after Ecuador was hit by its most powerful earthquake in decades. Some 10,000 troops and 3,500 police are being deployed in the affected areas, as rescue operations continue. Coastal areas in the north-west were closest to …
First of 200 wells drilled close to controversial block of forest known to have two of the last tribes living in isolation Ecuador has started drilling for oil on the edge of a controversial block of pristine rainforest inhabited by two of the last tribes in the world living in …
MEXICO CITY – More than 85,000 people, including actor Eugenio Derbez and Cafe Tacvba singer Ruben Albarran, have signed a petition to ban bullfighting in the northwestern Mexican state of Baja California, a measure that the state legislature is scheduled to take up on April 7. “The Congress of Baja …
Deep in the remote tropical forests of the northern Andes, scientists have discovered three new species of extremely rare snake. The discovery comes mere weeks after a separate team announced the discovery of a closely related snake in southwestern Ecuador. Taken together, the four newfound reptiles double the number of …
The canoe sliced through the water and along a quiet, narrow tunnel enclosed by mangrove trees. As the craft slid past the spindly tree trunks and roots sticking several feet out of the water, tour guides pointed out ibis, herons and small red crabs hidden among the foliage. Leading this …
To biologists’ delight, the Azuay stubfoot toad, believed to be extinct after its last sighting in 2002, has just leapt back to life. Three independent teams of scientists were involved in the rediscovery of a small group of the toads living in mountain forests near Cuenca (map)—and most crucially, the …
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has declared a state of emergency as the dangerous Cotopaxi volcano rumbled to life and prompted evacuation orders in several villages threatened by landslides. “As a precautionary measure, a total of 400 people have been evacuated,” the president said in his radio and television address just …
