Report prepared by Elliot Knudson and Courtenay White, students in BCIT’s Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Program.

Ecuador has managed to maintain a large proportion of its natural landscape despite land clearing for agriculture and urban expansion. Over ninety-six percent of the forests remain along with 75.9% of the grasslands. No data is present on the current amount of remaining wetlands. Of the total land available within the country, just under forty percent is actually considered a protected area. In Ecuador, INEFAN is responsible for the designation of these parks and is equivalent to the National Park Service in North America. So far, twenty parks and reserves have been set up to preserve the natural biodiversity and rich ecological integrity of this country.

The Andes is home to Ecuador’s first mainland national park established in 1975, the Cotopaxi National Park. Also in the Andes is the Podocarpus National Park, Cajas Recreation Area, and El Angel Ecological Reserve. Most recently established by the INEFAN was the Iliniza Ecological Reserve set up to protect the misty cloud forest (149,000 ha) which is currently in danger.

Within the mid elevation Andes-Amazon area you can find another handful of national parks and reserves. Most popular are the Llangates National Park, Sangay National Park, and Sumaco-Galeras National Park. Another protected area here is the Antisana Ecological Reserve.
In the lower elevations the Amazon supports a large amount of species diversity and abundance. The Yasuni National Park protects more land than any other in this region. Also the Cuyabeno Reserve and Limoncocha Biological Reserve help preserve the biodiversity of the region.