FALL NEWSLETTER follow along with our latest projects
OUR LATEST INITIATIVES
Together, we will continue defending our global climate, protecting 25+ million acres of the most biodiverse landscapes across Latin America.
Our latest conservation efforts will strategically increase the acreage of protected areas and continue to foster solutions that originate with local communities.
SUPPORTED
20 Local & Indigenous Communities
3 MILLION ACRES IN THE AMAZON
Alongside provincial governments and Indigenous nationalities, we are already protecting 11 million acres of connected rainforest in the Ecuadorian Amazon with our Amazonian Platform. Our goal is to expand this agreement to include the 3 northern provinces of Ecuador.
CORRIDOR CONNECTING ECUADOR AND PERU
The Andean Corridor, which is the first bi-national connectivity corridor in South America, will link protected areas and critical habitat in southern Ecuador and northern Peru.
WATER PROTECTED AREAS
We are safeguarding crucial water sources in Ecuador and Peru that benefit numerous local communities struggling with water scarcity.
CRUCIAL ECOSYSTEMS IN COLOMBIA AND BOLIVIA
New efforts to expand protected areas in Colombia and Bolivia are in the works and will protect unique ecosystems like the lowland Chocó in Colombia and the Chaco ecosystem in Bolivia.
STORED
3.4 Billion Tons of Carbon
PROTECTED
25.7 Million Acres
SAFEGUARDED
111 Municipal Water Sources
PRESERVED BIODIVERSITY Across 5 Countries in Latin America OUR IMPACT
A CASE STUDY ON CAZADEROS RESERVE IN ECUADOR
WHAT LONG-TERM PROTECTION LOOKS LIKE
Cazaderos Reserve is one of Nature and Culture’s oldest private reserves, and is part of the last remaining remnants of tropical dry forest in southwestern Ecuador.
Cazaderos Reserve is famous for the annual flowering of the brilliant Guayacan trees, which bloom across the region in a spectacular sea of yellow after the year’s first rain.
CAZADEROS :
“The conservation of Cazaderos is a priority within the entire Tumbesian region since the dry forest is the most threatened ecosystem both in Ecuador and Peru. Only 5% of the original ecosystem remains.”
- Bruno Paladines Dry Forest Mosaic Coordinator
MORE THAN JUST A PROTECTED AREA
2010, July 2
9,140 acres purchased Cazaderos Reserve created
2014, June 12
Becomes part of UNESCO’s Bosque Seco Biosphere Reserve
augpark2022:signage installed
Success!
2022, Nov 09 :
TODAY
12,108 total acres protected for the long term! Declared a National Protected Area, the highest designation of conservation in Ecuador.
(crocodylusacutus) and 119 monkeys (alouattapalliata aequatorialis) !
crocodile monitoring
326 households have received technical support to improve the production and commercialization of honey from 13 types of native bee.
The Tumbesian region, in western South America, along the Pacific, is a biodiversity hotspot spanning Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. The region is known for its high levels of endemism, meaning it contains many species of plants and animals that are found nowhere else on Earth.
Did you know?
Cazaderos is part of the last forest remnants between the Sechura Desert in Peru and the more humid forests in Ecuador. The Reserve allows an important transition of the plant and animal species found in these two ecosystems.
A RESERVE IS BORN... _ _
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_ _
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Expanded 826 acres
Expanded 1,105 acres
Expanded 283 acres _
flowering Guayacan trees
2011
2012
2013
OUR WORK IN ACTION ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
You are connecting habitat for the endangered Goldenbacked Mountain Tanager (Cnemathraupis aureodorsalis) and 450+ other avian species in Huánuco, Peru. Since 2015, Nature and Culture has created 3.7 million acres of protected areas in the region. That’s bigger than the state of Connecticut!
Peru’s Huanuco birds
Huanuco’s protected areas make up:
1% of Peru’s total land area but are home to 24% of the country’s bird species!
You are protecting key water sources, threatened species, and sustainable livelihoods in Colombia.
Cuchilla del San Juan, Colombia
– 73,000 acres protected
– Home to 95 mammals, 36 frog, 452 birds and 1,345 plant species
– 307 of these species are in decline
– The headwaters of the San Juan River are born here
– This protected watershed provides daily water supplies to almost 50K people & local farmers
– Local community members stay connected to conservation through their work in eco-tourism
You are protecting a cactus forest of great importance worldwide. Only in El Pitayal, the cactus-rich coastal lowlands of southern Sonora, does it reach densities as high as those found here.
Pitayal, Mexico
– El Pitayal is 180,000 acres of cactus-rich coastal lowlands of southern Sonora
Highest population density of the columnar cactus of anywhere on the planet
The old-growth organ pipe cacti (Stenocereus thurberi) produce fruit of cultural importance called pitaya
Locally, this cactus is part of cultural identity and important for this community to protect
You are protecting vital habitat for the highly endangered condor with a new protected area.
Bolivia’s brand-new
protected area
– 8,144 acres in the Bolivian Chaco within the Tarija Mountain Range
– 40 minutes from the capital city of Tarija
– Local community sought protection after human wildlife conflict resulted in 34 dead condors
– This region is important nesting ground for the condor (Vultur gryphus)
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VISIT NATUREANDCULTURE.ORG/DONATE TO SUPPORT PROJECTS LIKE THESE
Ecuadorian
YOUR DONATIONS AT WORK!
In the last year, you helped us raise money to protect large landscapes and mitigate climate change. Thanks to your donations, we’ve protected 2.3 billion tons of carbon and 11 million acres of continuous forest!
11M acres is about double the area
Ecuadorian Provinces
Your donations have also helped us amplify Indigenous voices on the global stage as we were able to bring our Indigenous partners to both COP 27 in Egypt, and the UN Water Conference in New York.
COP27 Presentation
Hi, I’m Laura Meagher, Director of Individual Giving.
Do you want to make your legacy a healthy climate?
Protect carbon-rich forests for generations to come?
Have you considered naming Nature and Culture International as a beneficiary of your IRA, trust, or will?
By making a planned or estate gift, you help us ensure the threatened ecosystems and local cultures we support today are planned for tomorrow.
If you have already included us in your legacy plans, please let us know so we can recognize and celebrate your wonderful gift in life!
Contact Laura Meagher at 858-259-0374 or lmeagher@natureandculture.org for more information.
Chinchipe Morona Santiago Pastaza New Jersey x2
Amazon
=
of New Jersey! Zamora
The Amazonian Platform spans 11 million acres within these 3 Ecuadorian provinces. They share a collaborative agreement to protect this dense Amazonian forest.
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