Forest Conservation Planning in the Ecuadorian Choco Forest, Year 1

To hire Amy Rogers as a Pinchot Institute Research Fellow to develop research and conservation plans that will create an ecologically and economically sustainable wildlife corridor connecting the two most significant remaining forest tracts in the Ecuadorian Choco forest.  This project will allow Amy to begin the implementation of conservation plans that build on her PhD research in the Choco Forest in northwestern Ecuador. This region has been named a global biodiversity "hot spot" because of the staggering rate of deforestation and the high levels of biodiversity. The region has less than 4% of its original forest cover, most of which is located within forest preserves in Esmeraldas Province. Amy’s research has focused on reforestation science and strategies to link existing reserves and foster the regeneration of this unique tropical forest ecosystem. This collaboration represents an integration of Amy’s research on reforestation in the Mache-Chindul Reserve with the research and conservation being undertaken by Pinchot Institute and Fundacion Jatun Sacha at the nearby Cotachaci-Cayapas Reserve.