We created fire brigades to defend six vulnerable reserves

Fires starting on agricultural land threaten our reserves. Thus, protecting dry forests or paramo grasslands is a must. Years of reforestation efforts and countless work on saving endangered ecosystems in Ecuador could vanish in a blink.

Most of our reserves are remote; hundreds of hectares can burn until firefighters arrive. To make things worse, the climate crisis has increased the frequency and heat intensity of fires.

For these reasons, we joined the regional plan to prevent fires in the Amazon region, called Plan Amazonia Sin Fuego (PASF), promoted by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment. Our participation allowed for an objective evaluation of the fire risks in our reserves. Nine of our reserves are susceptible to fires; six are vulnerable. For the latter six, we completed the training consisting of three courses taught by the local firefighters' departments, both theoretical and practical, and then a final training by the Spanish Firefighter Department.

The process has increased our skills to respond to fires and has also enabled local firefighters to increase their knowledge on what the best defense strategy is. As part of the training, park guards built firewalls across the most vulnerable parcels within our reserves and water storage nearby.

All of these actions are part of our 360° conservation strategy to guarantee the perpetuity of our conservation work.