As global temperatures rise, wildlife around the world are on the move, and one of the planet\u2019s most biodiverse countries is no exception.<\/p>\n
In central Ecuador, where the Andes meet the Amazon, lies a patchwork of protected areas and Indigenous territories. But climate change and persistent deforestation are widening the gaps between them \u2014 leaving species like jaguars, tapirs and monkeys with few safe paths to find more suitable habitat.<\/span><\/p>\n The solution: Stitch some of these areas back together.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, the Ecuadorian government, with support from Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund and the Global Environment Facility, announced the Palora-Pastaza corridor, which links protected forests with Indigenous territories to enable wildlife to more easily migrate to higher and more temperate elevations.<\/span><\/p>\n Spanning 316,000 hectares (781,000 acres) \u2014 an area roughly the size of Rhode Island \u2014 the corridor is the largest of its kind in Ecuador\u2019s Amazon.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRising temperatures coupled with deforestation are pushing wildlife into smaller and smaller areas,\u201d said Joy Woolfson, who leads the Amazonian Connectivity Corridors project for Conservation International-Ecuador. \u201cCorridors that connect remaining patches of healthy habitat are a lifeline.”<\/span><\/p>\n A jaguar in the Palora-Pastaza conservation corridor.<\/em><\/p>\n But where will wildlife migrate in the future? To answer this, Conservation International and EcoCiencia-Kolibria analyzed factors including the distance between primary forest and ease of travel, considering roads and landscapes.<\/span><\/p>\n Protected areas are one of conservation\u2019s most effective tools<\/a>, but by design, they can create isolated islands of healthy habitat for wildlife, Woolfson said. Corridors help bridge these gaps, linking fragmented ecosystems and providing safe routes for wildlife in search of food, mates or space.<\/span><\/p>\n Though protected areas typically limit human activity, protected corridors are different: They’re designed to support wildlife and people, allowing sustainable land use while allowing animals room to roam.<\/span><\/p>\n A South American tapir in the Palora-Pastaza conservation corridor.<\/em><\/p>\n With Sangay National Park in the Andes to the west and Indigenous territories in the Amazon to the east, establishing the protected corridor required buy-in from local and Indigenous communities whose ancestral lands it connects to, Woolfson said.<\/span><\/p>\n Eighty-four percent of the land in the Palora-Pastaza corridor belongs to three Indigenous communities \u2014 the Shuar, Achuar and Kichwa \u2014 who along with two provincial and six municipal governments elected to include their territories in the protected corridor. Since 2023, Conservation International has worked with representatives from each group to plan and manage the corridor and ensure its long-term protection.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe forest is important to us. Our father always told us to share with other communities \u2014 show others the importance of protecting the forest,\u201d said Jos\u00e9 Vargas, president of the Arutam Forest, a Shuar core area located within the corridor. \u201cIt makes me happy to see other nationalities participating, because unity will help us conserve nature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Without support from these communities, establishing the corridor would have been impossible, Woolfson said. As research has repeatedly shown<\/a>, Indigenous peoples are some of the most effective stewards of the environment, and deforestation on Indigenous-managed lands is consistently lower than average.<\/span><\/p>\n The corridor, its backers say, will directly benefit more than 2,000 people who live in the area by providing them with funding or technical assistance to shift to sustainable farming practices and livelihoods.<\/span><\/p>\n Woolfson says that the effort is part of a larger strategy in Ecuador, where there is little remaining land in the country \u2014 about the size of the U.S. state of Nevada \u2014 to designate as protected.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEcuador is a small country,\u201d she said. \u201cEven in the protected areas that we have now, a good portion is occupied by people. By targeting protected corridors, we\u2019re maximizing protected areas\u2019 potential, while also protecting wildlife and the livelihoods of people living there.”<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/ciorg.imgix.net\/images\/default-source\/default-album\/ci_18405502_full?&auto=compress&auto=format&fit=crop?&auto=compress&auto=format&w=800\")
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