Parque Nacional Cotopaxi
Hacienda Los
Mortiños
On the slopes of Cotopaxi
Goals
Planting 50,000 trees, shrubs andnative plants
Planted Trees
0
1. Background
Biodiversity is the foundation of our existence. It ensures the health of the ecosystems on which our food security depends and helps to sustain the global economy.
Ecuador is one of the 17 so-called megadiverse countries, home to 70 % of the planet'sspecies diversity.
However, Ecuador faces a multitude of threats to this biodiversity due deforestation resulting from the expansion agricultural and livestock frontier, infrastructure development, mining hydrocarbon exploitation, extraction timber resources.
As a result, from 2001 to 2023, Ecuador lost 997,000 ha of forest, equivalent 5.2 % decrease in tree cover.
Of this total, 25% corresponds to primary rainforest. Of this total, 25% corresponds to primary rainforest.
2. Reforestation area location
We are working on the reforestation of an area located in the buffer zone of the Cotopaxi National Park, named after the Cotopaxi volcano, which,at 5897 meters above sea level, is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world.
It is a symbol of Ecuador and is recognized worldwide. The Park extends over 33,393 ha, and the planting area is 3,600 meters above sea level.
With a predominance of moorland, it has a flora composed of pillow plants, grasslands and chuquiraguas.
It hosts numerous bird species, inclouding flamingos, bandurria, curiquingue, gulls, condors and many migratory birds. It is also home to mammals such as deer, llamas, vicuñas, wild horses, foxes and spectacled bears.
3. The project
The FECSE Foundation signed an agreement with Hacienda Los Mortiños for the ecosystemicrestoration of 23 hectares (57 acre) of their land, committing that this area will bemaintained in perpetuity as a nature conservation area.
The original ecosystem was degraded mainly by animal grazing and the planting of exotic forest species, such as pine.
We aim to plant 50,000 species of native flora, trees, shrubs, and plants in the first stage. We have planted 2,900 so far. On our lastvisit, June 15, 2024, 40 volunteers joined us to plant 608 native trees and shrubs.
The páramo ecosystem is essential for protecting water sources. It acts like a sponge, retaining large amounts of water and slowlyreleasing them.
4. How the restoration works?
We will contribute to the ecosystemic recovery of a páramo area,focusing on the recovery of streams and the protection of springsand small lagoons.
We will support nature to do its work, first by planting trees andbushes, so that the birds will have a place to perch.
Then, they will spread the seeds and, as the trees bloom, they willattract insects. Little by little, we will be recovering the ecosystemuntil we have native forests again.
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