AN ASSESSMENT OF 3iOLOGICAL DIVERMiTY At I 9CUADOR AN ASSESSMENT OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND TROPICAL FORESTS FOR ECUADOR Prepared for USAID/Ecuador as an Annex to the Country Development Strategy Statement for FY 1989 -1990 Prepared by: Bruce J. Cabarle, Team leader Muriel Crespi, Cultural Anthropologist Calaway H. Dodson, Botanist Carlos Luzuriaga C., Natural Resource Economist Dietmar Rose, Natural Resource Economist John N. Shores, Wildland Management Planner Ad Hororem: Nora L. Berwic:k, USAID/S&T/FENR Howard L. Clark, USAID/LAC/REMS Maria Magdalena del Pozo, DIGEMA Kate Clark, Editor The Center for International Development and Environment. of The World Resources Institute 1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 302 Washington DC 20036 January 1989 AND TROPICAL FORESTS AN ASSESSMENT OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY FOR ECUADOR Table of ContentRs . O N . ................... .. .. ye . ............................ iii Qha _: Introduction 1.1. Congressional Mandate .................... ...... Scope, objectives, and conceptual framework 1.2. ....... ..................... 1.2.1. Scope ..................... 1.2.2. Objectives ........ 2 ...... .............. 1.2.3. Conceptual framework 3 of this Assessment .... 1.3. Limitations and Constraints 3 of Ecuador .... ............ 1.4. Biological Diversity 5 Information Gaps ......... 6 Identification of Critical . ... 1.5. 1.5.1. Fauna . ...... Invertebrates 1.5.2. 7 1.5.3. Flora . ................ .. Tropical Forests ....... 8 1.5.4. .. ..... ....... 1.5.5. Sociocultural Aspects . 9 of Biological Diversity 1.6. Economic Importance .. 10 ..... ................. 1.7. Equity Considerations and Projections .... 1.8. Demographic & Economic Trers Structure Affecting 2 iL:_A1: Legislative & Institutional Biological Resources 12 ...... ....... National Laws . .T. .. .. 12 2.1. on Land Use Patterns . 2.1.1. Laws and Their Affects .. 13 . ........ National Policies . .. 14 2.3. (Indigenous) . 2.3.1. Communal Policies 15 (NGOs) ........... .. 2.4. Non-Governmental Organizations 17 Process in Ecuador . 2.5. Economic Project Evaluation Donors, U.S.- Projects of International 18 2.6. Development . ......... BasedPVOs, and AID .. ......... Baseid (cont.) Pag Table of Contents Development Projects Affecting 2.7. Selective Review of Major 20 BiodiversitY •.•.20 Hollin - Loreto - Coca Highway. 20 2.7.1. ... watershed Development 2.7.2. 22 2.7.3. Daule-Peripa Dam . ........ 2 Sector Development. Project . 2.7.4. Forestry . 2.7.5. Soil Conservation of Species at Risk r- Status and Protection 24 3.0. Introduction 2 . ........ and their Status 26 Zones of Ecuador .......... 3.1. Life (La Costa) . 28 Western Ecuador . ..... ... 3.1.1. Highlands) .. The Sierra (Andean . 3.1.2. Region (El Oriente) 3,1.3. The Amazon . •.. .. .. of "Species at Risk" a Regional 3.2. Definition Species at Risk Following 3.2.1. Analysis of ........................ Focus .............. of Protected Areas Status & Management . Areas ........ wildlands and Protected Ecuador . .. 4.1. Vlildland System in .......... 3 4.1.0. National ...... 3. National Park Sub-system ........... 4.1.1. The Forest Sub-system 33 4.1.2. The National ............ Non-governmental Sub-system 4.1.3. The 34 of Management Activities 34 Use and Assessment ............. 4.2. Inventory, Protected Areas .. 4.2.1. Designated . 38 National Park System of The Ecuadorean . .38 4.3 Constraints Park System Finances of the National 4.3.1. 40 Areas . .. Communities and Protected 4.4. indigenous 42 ........ ........... Protected Areas . 42 4.5. Proposed . 43 4.5.1. FAO 1976 study . Designated Areas ........ 4.5.2. Other . ............ Protected Areas 4.5.2. other of Coverage ................ 4.7. Assessment of Objectives Protected Areas' Fulfillment 45 4.8. Assessment of .. ............. to Biological Diversity related . 45 . 4.9 Ecctourism . Table of Contents (cont.) Outside of ChaperV: In-Situ and Ex-Situ Conservation Protected Areas 47 5.1. In-Situ Conservation . ............. 47 5.1.1. Traditional Land Uce Patterns.. UJse Contemporary Threats to Traditional Land 5.1.2. 48 Patterns ....... .................... 50 Conservation ..... ......... ...... 5.2. Ex-situ 50 5.2.1. Botanical Gardens and Zoos .... ............ ....... 50 5.2.2. Herbaria and Museums .............. Important Native Chaoter VI: Conservation of Economically Species and Germplasm . species from a commercial perspective . 6.1. Important 52 6.1.1. The Forest Resource ... ............. ............. 55 6.1.2. Cultivated Food Crops ...... at the Local Level . 57 6.2. Species with Economic Significance ........ ... 57 6.2.1. Fish and Gamne ............ trade . • 58 6.2.2. Native plants with potential in floral Diversity and Chapter VII: Major Issues in Biological Tropical Forest Conservation .......... 59 7.1. Major Issues at the National Level .. 7.1.1. Limited non-agricultural subsistence 60 alternatives....... .................... .... land use patterns . ........ 61 7.1.2. Inappropriate ............ 63 Institutional Limitations...... 7.1.3. 64 Pressures .... ............... 7.1.4 Economic 65 7.1.5. Population Growth . .. ...... ....... Need for an information base begzrding 7.1.6, 67 biological diversity ....... ............... of Regional Threats to Biodiversity 7.2. Review 67 ....... ..................... Conservation 67 7.2.1. La Costa (Western Ecuador) ........... 73 7.2.2. La Sierra (Andean Highlands) . ......... 73 El Oriente (The Amazon) . ........... 7.2.3. 76 7.2.4. GalApagos Islands .... ............... Table of Contents (cont.) for Proposed Actions Chapter VIII: Recommendations conservation . 78 8.1. Priority areas for biodiversity 79 biodiversity conservation • 8.2. Current opportunities for actions for USATD/Quito . 79 8.2.1. Priority conservation reforms ..... 8.2.2. Priority areas for policy biodiversitY of selected USAID projects for 8.3. Enhancement . 8. conservation . .......... .. Promotion of land use planning 8.3.1. USAID projects . Improved coordination among 8.3.2. ...................... 8.3.3. Research ......... Action Plan: Natural Resources 8.4. Comments on USAID/Quito of biological 8.5. Project proposals for the conservation .......... .8....... diversity . ......... 81 Data Center ......... 8.5.1. National Conservation ........ ......... 89 8.5.2. Basic Research Support Owned and Managed Parks ....... 8.5.3. Community .... '31 Workshop on Community Based Conservation 8.5.4. Data Bank . 90 8.5.5. Traditional Resource Management . Bibliography . jL fApendi ces from the report) (contained in separate document Interviews Appendix 1.1: Team Members and Appendix 1.2: Acronyms and Abbreviations to the Conservation of Appendix 1.3: Definitions related Biological Diversity and Indigenous Organizations Appendix 2.1: Non-governmental (NGOs) and Development NGOs Appendix 2.2: Directory of Conservation in Ecuador concerned with Biodiversity Development Projects Appendix 2.3: Major Economic for the Economic Appendix 2.4: Theoretical Framework Analysis of Biodiversity of Forests in Ecuador Appendix 3.1: History and Status and Endemism in Ecuador Appendix 3.2: Biological Diversity of Team Members Appendix 4: Biodata Sketches Diversity Profile Table 1.1: Neotropica\l Profile of Endemic Terrestrial Table 1.2: Comparative Vertebrate Species Diversity. of the Ecuadorean Table 1.3: Current Estimates Higher Vertebrate Fauna. Forest Cover in Ecuador. Table 1.4: Domestic Product Natural Resources and Gross Table 1.5: in real terms). (percentages of total GDP Forestry Return on Agriculture and Table 2.1: Economic Investments. Ecuador witn estimateo Area of forest cover in Table 3.1: species. numbers of total and endemic of vascular plant Comparison of the status Table 3.2: Western Ecuador. species at four sites in at 4 sites in western Ecuador. Table 3.3: Risk situation Areas of Ecuador (1988). 4.1: Designated Protected Table Budget of the Part Program Table 4.2: Annual Operations (in millions of sucres). Existing Protected Arezas. 4.3: Staffing Levels for Table Ecuadorean System. 4.4: Areas Proposed for Table Areas in Ecuador Table 4.5: aeFacto Protected (Preliminary List). in the Amazon Region, Table 5.1: Land Adjudications 1964-1982. cultivated areas of selected Table 6.1: Changes in important crops. in Ecuador. Growth of the external debt Table 7.1: Ecuador. Population growth rates in Table 7.27 salt flats and Extent of mangrove forests, Table 7.3 1969- 1987 shrimp ponds coastal Ecuador, (hectares). this Study Map 1,. Principle Regions of Ecuador for Life Zones of Map 2: Generalized Distribution of the Ecuador of Ecuador Map 3: Distribution of the Life Zones (Ca~adas 1978) Map 4: Rainfall Isolines Ma 5: Indigenous Lands Map 6: Native Forest and Protected Areas (Primary Forest or Undisturbed Forest) Map 7: National Parks and Equivalent Reserves Map 8: Private-Sector Conservation Areas Map 9: Oil Exploration Blocks FORWARD The story of the Rio Palenque mahogany is the tale of a tree almost lost from the fece of the Earth. A valuable genetic resource would have been lost, were it not for a small private research center where a few individual trees survived. In pre-Columbian times, the Rio Palenque mahogany was much­ prized by the indigenous people of the Guayas River Basin for its amazing resistance to rot. They had many uses for its strong wood, particularly as the posts on which to build their homes. With the arrival of the Spanish, exploitation of the tree increased dramatically. It was for three centuries the most highly prized timber tree in northwestern Ecuador because of its value in cabinetry