NATURE IS CALLING

THE FIRST WATER STAR PROTECTED IN ECUADOR

Your generosity is protecting a special place with significant hydrological importance: the source of water for several thousand people in Ecuador and Peru.

There are water sources within Ecuador referred to as “Estrellas Hídricas.” This term translates to “water star” – the birthplace of several rivers, with each arm or river emanating from the source. These special places, as well as other single-river sources of the most important watersheds in the country, are in the process of being identified and declared as “Water Protection Areas,” a new conservation figure in Ecuador.

Fierro Urco is one such Water Star. Located in southern Ecuador, this symbolic mountain is the source of four main watersheds in the region. The area contains 336 lagoons and 36 rivers – critical water sources for several thousand people in Ecuador and Peru. The lagoons are sacred places for the indigenous Saraguro people.

Fierro Urco is also home to extraordinary biodiversity, including the blue-throated hillstar hummingbird (Oreotrochilus cyanolaemus), the first new bird species discovered in Ecuador in thirty years. Despite the area’s significance, it is increasingly threatened by reckless activities like mining. Not only does mining endanger habitat and wildlife, but it can also contaminate water sources with heavy metals like mercury, threatening human lives.

Thanks to your support, Nature and Culture is working to protect over 173,000 acres in Fierro Urco as a Water Protection Area. It will be the first Water Star to receive this level of conservation protection in the country! Once declared, this status will ensure the protection of water sources and permanently prevent extractive activities like mining.

We are excited to share the official declaration with you soon!