Save the Chocó

Our Save the Chocó Campaign seeks to raise US $5 million to purchase and protect 57,000 acres of unique pristine rainforest in the Chocó, a cradle of biodiversity and wilderness on the western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. This piece is the largest surviving remnant of the Chocó still controlled by commercial interests, and therefore of critical importance to be saved.

The scale of this conservation opportunity is virtually unprecedented! The 57,000 acres is currently still controlled by logging companies. This potential land purchase would connect the surrounding reserves and its preservation would create ing a fully contiguous protected area of more than 650,000 acres -- nearly the size of Yosemite National Park in California!

In addition, this new protected area would cover a wide altitudinal gradient, running from sea level to nearly 5,000 meters higher than any peak in the continental United States. Protecting Chocó lowland, Andean cloud forest and Paramo (and everything in between), being significantly larger than any protected area in Western Ecuador. This altitudinal gradient is crucial to species whose survival is imperiled by a changing climate, allowing them to migrate upland in search of cooler temperatures and creating long-term resiliency. These endangered species include Harpy Eagle, Jaguar and Brown-headed Spider Monkey.