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 …
as many as half the world's plant species may qualify as threatened with extinction under the World Conservation Union (iucn) classification scheme, indicates a new study. Conducted by Nigel Pitman of us-based Duke University and Peter Jorgensen of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the study indicates that the iucn Red List …
oil spills could mean far worse for the environment than they have been blamed for till date, shows a recent study conducted in the Galapagos Islands located off the coast of Ecuador. In January 2001 the tanker Jessica, belonging to Petrocomercial, an arm of the Ecuadorian state oil company, had …
Greens Free The government has freed five European environmental activists from the Quito jail recently. They were accused of damaging property while staging protests against the construction of a new oil pipeline, believed to encroach on the Mindo protected forest and bird habitat. Despite environmental repercussions, the government is counting …
A temporary suspension has been clamped on the licence of a pipeline builder in Ecuador by the country's environment ministry. The ministry has said that until the company repairs damages near a protected forest, the licence would remain revoked. The ministry took the decision after construction work caused damage in …
International ngo Greenpeace has asked a German bank to cancel financing for an Ecuadorean oil pipeline. The ngo contends that the pipeline would damage swaths of rare mountain cloud forest. Even though it is believed that the us $1.1 billion pipeline would double oil transport capacity, environmentalists argue that the …
The secretariat of the convention on wetlands has announced that the government of Ecuador has named two new wetlands of international significance. The protected status of the two areas became effective recently. Ecuador has set aside for protection the 46-hectare "Refugio de Vida Silvestre Isla Santa Clara' in the Provincia …
A massive oil spill from an abandoned exploratory oil well is wreaking havoc on the ecology and environment of the Pastaza province. Conservation biologist Patricia Medici says that in October 2001 an Ecuadorian native group told state oil company Petroecuador about the spill, but it did not respond. Even after …
Guayaquil, Ecuador's main port, is set to receive a major clean-up with the Andean Development Corporation (caf), the multilateral lending branch of the Andean Community, clearing a us$13 million loan for Ecuador. To check the pollution of the port's estuary, waste dumps would be constructed and maintained. People will also …
Rejecting the pleas of conservationists, the constitutional tribunal of Ecuador has taken a decision which would cause irreparable damage to the Mindo ecological reserve (see Down To Earth , Vol 10, No 3, June 30, p13). It has permitted multinational consortium ocp Ecuador sa to complete the construction of a …
Poachers recently killed 15 sea lions in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. The carcasses of the animals, four females and 11 males, were found on the southern shore of San Cristobal. All the animals had fractured skulls and missing teeth. "The sexual organisms of the males had been removed, most probably for …
Aerial spraying of the herbicide glyphosate by Columbia is posing a serious health hazards for Ecuadorians. Colombia is spraying the herbicide in its Putumayo province to control the cultivation of drugs. But this has raised concerns in Ecuador, which shares a 620-km border with Colombia. Incidents of headaches, fever and …
The bureau of the World Heritage Committee has recommended that the Galapagos Marine Reserve should be given the status of a heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation ( unesco). The ongoing conservation efforts in the reserve would get a boost if the committee accepts the …
Conservationists of Ecuador have welcomed a recent judgement that upholds a ban on shark poaching. A court in Guayaquil ruled that the constitutional rights of the owners of an illegal shark-poaching vessel were not violated when their vessel was seized. The vessel, Maria Canela II, was seized on March 22, …
Environmental groups in Ecuador have raised concerns about a project to build a crude oil pipeline through Mindo ecological reserve. The area is an important habitat for birds. The groups have urged the country's energy ministry not to grant an environmental permit for the project to a seven-company consortium, called …
at least nine animals died and many sea lions, giant tortoises, colourful blue-footed boobie birds and other pelicans were affected due to an oilspill near Galapagos, an archipelago straddling the equator 1,000 km west of Ecuador. The accident happened when a vessel, Jessica, ran aground after hitting rocks on January …
Angry fisherfolk of Galapagos Islands, 965 kilometres off the Ecuadorean mainland, recently lay seige to research stations of the Charles Darwin Foundation, the main promoter of conservation efforts in the island. The fisherfolk were protesting against the October 2000 announcement of the Galapagos Fishing Commission that established seasonal limits on …
ERUPTIONS of the Galdpagos volcano Cerro Azul have forced conservationists to speed the capture of 20 endangered giant tortoises for a captive breeding programme. Recently a helicopter was hired for two days to airlift some 11 tortoises from the island of Isabela, the largest in the Galdpagos archipelago. The remaining …
