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Compensation for Ecosystems Services in Ecuador

In Ecuador, arid and degraded lands depend heavily on other ecosystems such as tropical humid and mountain ecosystems and on the provision of environmental services.

At the same time, Ecuador’s great diversity of land uses and ecosystems makes the country an excellent candidate for demonstrating that sustainable land management from a landscape approach is both feasible and necessary.

Under its Strategic Programme on Compensation for Ecosystems Services (CES), the GM is initiating specific activities as part of a comprehensive approach to combating land degradation at landscape level in Ecuador.

The GM's work is focusing on supporting the design and development of financing mechanisms for the conservation of forest remnants which are key for the provision of forest services in degraded areas.

To this end, the GM has entered into a collaborative agreement with Conservation International - an international NGO specialized in biodiversity conservation.

Under this agreement, joint resource mobilization will be undertaken to support financing mechanisms for the conservation, restoration and maintenance of multiple environmental services within a landscape approach.

Through EcoSecurities, the GM is supporting in Ecuador the design of carbon offsets projects for reforestation initiatives that are linked to environmental services schemes for the provision of water.

Initiatives supported by the GM include:

the central coastal region (Manabí Province), where the provincial government is leading an ambitious reforestation programme for this highly degraded area;
a small-scale community reforestation programme of the Communal Water Board of Olón - a very important water catchment area for extensive degraded surrounding areas of the coastal region;
two reforestation projects in the dry Tumbesian region, on the border between Ecuador and Peru; and
a project to restore degraded lands in the watersheds of the Quito district, supporting the reforestation programme of the Municipality of Quito, in conjunction with the Water Protection Fund, FONAG.

The GM will draw on the lessons learnt to foster dialogue and synergies between the Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) with a view to promoting integrated environmental services to promote sustainable land management and alleviate poverty in fragile ecosystems in Ecuador and the Andean region.

For more information, please contact:

Mr Alejandro Kilpatrick, Programme Coordinator, Latin America and the Caribbean
Tel. +39 06 5459 2524
a.kilpatrick@ifad.org