EcoMinga Foundation's Rio Zuñac Reserve

The Rio Zunac basin is part of the Rio Topo-Rio Zunac side valley of the Upper Rio Pastaza Watershed. This Topo-Zunac side valley is a center of plant endemism with at least 20 species unique to the area. The valley is bordered on the east by the Cordillera Abitagua, a very rich center of plant endemism with many endemic species, mostly orchids. Though the higher parts of the Cordillera Abitagua are part of the Llanganates National Park, the rich middle slopes and the lower Topo-Zunac valley are unprotected. Our project protects these middle and lower slopes, and also serves to protect the national park (whoihc has no guards or marked boundaries in this area).

Most of the land in this area does not have legal title. Currently several associations of colonists are trying to get legal title to portions of the area. Because of the lack of clear titles in the area, EcoMinga is experimenting with a new approach to conservation here. We are providing incentives for these colonists to become "colonists for conservation"-- in exchange for agreeing to comply with a strict management plan enforced by the Ministerio del Ambiente, we are offering to help the colonists get title to their land. The colonists must agree to preserve 90% of each lot. In return we will help with legal expenses for title acquisition. Those who agree will all share in entrance fees to the reserve, potential funds for carbon offsets, etc, so that they can earn something from their land without cutting it down. For those colonists who do not agree, we are offering to buy their share of the area. So far we have bought possession rights to 550 hectares, which will form the core of the Zunac reserve.

Our colonists are already mostly ecologically sensitized, having lived in Baños which is a center of ecotourism. Many of the colonists are guides in Baños, one is a professor of ecotourism, and several others are involved in tourism. They would like this area to become an ecotourism center, and so it is a pleasure to work with them.

Once we have legal title to our own land in the area, we will set up a scientific station for local and international scientists and students. This is an extremely diverse forest which merits further study, and new plant species are discovered here every year.
Ministerio del Ambiente employees are taking GPS readings of our proposed "ecological colony".
This reserve lies in the eastern foothills of the Andes.

The orchid Dracula fuligifera is known only from the Topo-Zuñac watershed.

 

 

This newly discovered Dracula appears to be a new subspecies of Dracula exasperata, formerly thought to be a rare Colombian endemic.

 

 

Teagueia zeus is another of the many orchid species that are found only in the Topo-Zuñac watershed on the slopes and crest of the Cordillera Abitagua.

 

 

There have been several interesting local species radiations in the area. Here are two members of a local evolutionary radiation in a clade of the orchid genus Lepanthes. On the left is a new species just described by one of us as L. spruceana, after the first explorer of the Cordillera Abitagua, Richard Spruce. On the right is another newly discovered species which still hasn't been described...

 

 

The Red Brocket Deer is common on the reserve, and very confiding.

 

 

One of the most striking things about the reserve is the transparency of the water, which is so clear it hardly appears in this photograph of the river. The rock at the bottom of the photo is under a meter of water.
 

Help us work with the colonists of this area to establish an effective ecological reserve and scientific station.

Make a tax-deductible donation to EcoMinga via one of our US or UK partners.

 

We need you to help us provide incentives for the colonists of this area to join our "ecological community", and to build a scientific station which can help mploy and provide income to these colonists so they don't feel the need to cut their forest. We also need money to buy out those colonists who do not wish to participate in our ecological community.

Our partners in the US and UK are World Parks-World Land Trust (US) and World Land Trust (UK). Both are registered charities in their respective countries and donations made to them for EcoMinga are tax-deductible. We are also working with the new Orchid Conservation Alliance, who in 2006 reached their goal of raising $10000 for us! Write these foundations directly to make donations, and write me for more information:

EcoMinga would like to thank the following corporations and people who have contributed to EcoMinga's land purchases or have supported scientific work related to EcoMinga:
PriceWaterhouse Cooper
Puro Coffee (Andy Orchard)
John and the late Ruth Moore
Dr. Malli and Vera Lee Rao
Dr. Steve Beckendorf and Cindy Hill
Dr. Nigel Simpson, O.B.E
Orchid Conservation Alliance (San Diego, CA)
CEIBA Foundation
Wild Waters Foundation
Henri Botter and Ardy van Ooij
Orchid Growers Guild (Madison, WI)
Atlanta Orchid Society
Marisol Villagomez
Dr. Anne Chao
John Little
Dr. Mary Gerritesen
Angela Mirro
Bryon K. Rinke

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