Main initiatives in Podocarpus-El Cóndor Biosphere Reserve, Ecuador

The Podocarpus-El Cóndor Biosphere Reserve is located in the provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe. The reserve is characterized by native forests, páramos, and shrub and herbaceous vegetation. The region is at the confluence of the Amazon River basin, the high Andes, and the Cordillera del Cóndor and Páramo (Huayllabamba depression).  

Altitudinal ranges vary between 700 and 3,790 m, and rainfall varies between 380 and 8,000 mm/year. These conditions have shaped 48 ecosystems of exceptional high biodiversity. The main economic activities relate to agriculture, livestock, artisanal gold mining, and community tourism.  

While in the highlands, commerce and services are concentrated in Loja, in the Amazon region the population is concentrated in the city of Zamora, where commerce, tourism, agriculture, cattle ranching, mining and the timber industry are the main economic activities. The reserve has some indigenous territories belonging mainly to the Shuar Indigenous People in the Amazon, Saraguro and Quichua Indigenous People in the highlands, as well as mestizo and Afro-Ecuadorian populations.  

All biosphere reserves must fulfil three basic, equal and mutually complementary functions: conservation, socio-economic development, and logistical support. These functions are guided by a management plan, which supports the achievement of the declared objectives of the biosphere reserve in a structured, measurable way. The management plan needs to address all issues of relevance for the specific biosphere reserve. Biosphere reserves should involve all of the various stakeholders in planning and decision-making, and provide training to enable meaningful participation. The formulation of a management plan represents a key opportunity to engage with stakeholders and communities in depth. This process can take several years and may require considerable resources.  

Although the Podocarpus-El Cóndor Biosphere Reserve is included in territorial planning tools at the national, provincial and regional level, it does not have its own management plan. The Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project has partnered with the Arcoíris Foundation to support the biosphere reserve in developing its management plan. 

Mestizo and Indigenous communities living in the Podocarpus-El Condor Biosphere Reserve manage sustainable agroforestry systems where they grow organic coffee and cacao arbolado. The Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project has partnered with the Association of Coffee Producers of Palanda (APECAP) and the Arcoíris Foundation to support the expansion of demonstrative plots of agroforestry systems where specialty coffee trees are grown in compliance with Ecuador's pioneer Deforestation-Free Green Initiative Label for sustainably produced and deforestation-free products. 

This initiative supported 5 producers directly (including 2 women) with seeds, supplies, and training on agroforestry, positioning them in the regional deforestation-free market. Likewise, the initiative capacitated 10 youth on social media to follow and communicate about the initiative. This pilot project also aims to create an indicator within APECAP to measure the advantages and benefits of agroforestry systems, encouraging more producers to adopt this production model. In 2022, APECAP commercialized 300 tons of organic and fair-trade certified coffee, mainly destined for Europe, and exported a first batch of 17.2 tons of certified sustainable deforestation-free Amazonian coffee to Italy.