Ecuador: Conservation and Sustainable Management of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve

 

This Joint Programme's goal was to support the conservation and management of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve (YBR), one of the world’s greatest areas of biodiversity, and a national priority for Ecuador. The programme focused on implementing community-based economic alternatives for the most vulnerable populations, and on initiatives to deal with climate change through adaptation and the non-emission of greenhouse gases.

The programme contributed to the achievement of MDG 1, poverty reduction, giving priority to disadvantaged populations. It also contributed to the protection of the rights of indigenous populations living in voluntary isolation (PVI). The conservation of the YBR is one of the country’s national priorities and the Ministry of the Environment was the programme’s main partner.

The work focused on the one hand on the implementation of national and local policies for the conservation and management of the reserve, including:
  1. Integrated management of the territory of the reserve;
  2. Capacity building to reduce the negative impacts of large-scale economic activities;
  3. National policies and strategies for the protection of tribes;
  4. Country initiative to maintain oil reserves underground.
The programme also sought to improve reserve management, focusing on conservation and sustainable management of natural and cultural heritage and improving environmental quality, including:
  1. Development of environmentally sustainable community productive activities in the buffer zone of the reserve;
  2. Strengthening local capacities for management of the reserve;
  3. Development of financial sustainability mechanisms for the conservation and management of the reserve.

Main achievements included:

  • Support for the land-use planning of the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve.
  • Support for the education plan for sustainable development.
  • Contribution to the national policy for the protection of isolated indigenous communities.
  • Awareness campaigns for the prevention of environmental crimes that increased advocacy capacity of women at the cantonal level, and reduced illegal trade in timber species, wildlife and bushmeat.
  • Projects were supported to increase food security and alternative income generation; training and the provision of equipment to ground staff of the Ministry of the Environment. 
  • Support was given for 38 projects to manage ecosystem goods and services. The programme also contributed to capacity building in the management of micro-enterprises, creation and management of savings and credit institutions, and design and presentation of project proposals, including the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve Databank.
 
Click for more detailed results from the Joint Programmes in Ecuador (in Spanish).

 

The Joint Programme in action

JOINT PROGRAMME QUICK FACTS

Programme Dates 01 Apr 2008 - 31 Jan 2012
Net funded amount $3,952,360
Participating UN agencies FAO, UN-HABITAT, UNDP, UNESCO, UN Women, UNWTO
National partners Ministerios del Ambiente (MAE), Coordinador de Patrimonio (MCP), Turismo (MINTUR), , Justicia y Derechos Humanos (MJDH), Salud, Educación, Secretaría Nacional de Planificación y Desarrollo (SENPLADES), Plan de Medidas Cautelares a favor de los Pueblos Aislados (PMC-PIA / MAE), Secretaría de Pueblos y Participación Ciudadana, Consejo de Desarrollo de los Pueblos y Nacionalidades (CODENPE), Consorcio de Consejos Provinciales del Ecuador (CONCOPE), Asociación de Municipalidades del Ecuador (AME), Comité de Gestión de la Reserva de Biosfera del Yasuní (CGRBY), Universidades San Francisco y Católica, Instituto Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP), Consejos Provinciales de Orellana y Pastaza, Municipios de Arajuno, Aguarico y Francisco de Orellana, Gobiernos Parroquiales de Dayuma, Taracoa, Cononaco, Capitán Augusto Rivadeneira, Tiputini, Yasuní, Santa María de Huiririma y Curaray, Fuerzas Armadas - Brigada de selva 19 Napo, Policía Nacional, Consejo Cantonal de la Niñez y la Juventud, Comisarías de la familia y la mujer, Federación de Organizaciones Campesinas de Orellana (FOCAO), Nacionalidad Waorani del Ecuador (NAWE), Asociación de Mujeres Waorani de la Amazonía Ecuatoriana (AMWAE), Fondo Ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio (FEPP), Instituto para el Ecodedesarrollo Regional Amazónico (ECORAE), Federación de Comunas Unión de Nativos de la Amazonía Ecuatoriana (FCUNAE /FIKAE), World Conservation Society (WCS), Conservation in Action, Fundación Pachamama, Fundación para la Conservación y Desarrollo Amazónico (CODEAMA), Fundación 180˚, Cabildo de Cuenca, entre otros
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