THIRD MILLENNIUM ALLIANCE
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Mission Statement
MISSION: Preserve the last remnants of rainforest in coastal Ecuador and empower local communities to restore what has been lost. We envision a culture in which communities in coastal Ecuador recognize both the practical and intrinsic benefits of forest stewardship and help them gain the capacity to manage the land accordingly, facilitating both economic and environmental sustainability in the region.
About This Cause
WHO WE ARE: A group of people committed to protecting the most endangered tropical forest in the world, along with the vast biodiversity and carbon it has the capacity to store. WHERE WE WORK Our work is focused in one of the last major remnants of rainforest in coastal Ecuador. This area is officially designated as a global biodiversity hotspot, representing the most threatened part of the great Chocó rainforest. The Chocó, located along the Pacific coast, is the tropical ecosystem to the west of the Andes mountains, compared to the Amazon ecosystem located east of the Andes. WHY HERE: As a point of comparison, the Amazon has lost about 25% of its original forest—whereas the coastal forests of Ecuador have already lost over 98%. We work in the province with the highest deforestation rate in Ecuador, which is the country with the highest deforestation rate in all of South America. It’s also the most biodiverse country on earth, per square unit of land. This project is on the frontlines of global climate change and the sixth mass extinction currently underway on our planet. PRIMARY THREAT: The main driver of deforestation in this region is unsustainable agriculture, namely cattle ranching, logging, and slash-and-burn agriculture. OUR MISSION: Protect the last surviving remnants of this global biodiversity hotspot and empower local communities to restore what has already been lost. HOW WE DO IT: In 2007, we created a forest preserve called the Jama-Coaque Reserve (JCR). We started by purchasing 100 acres of cloud forest at the very peak of the coastal mountain range. After twelve years and the purchase of eighteen different wilderness properties, JCR now protects over 1,600 acres of rainforest and cloud forest. We’re in the process of extending JCR along a 12-km conservation corridor westward toward the shores of the Pacific Ocean. We’ve also planted over 20,000 trees in deforested land adjacent to JCR, and manage an innovative community-based program that utilizes sustainable cacao agroforestry to restore the landscape while also supporting local livelihoods. Our long-term goal is to replicate this model northward along a 65-km corridor of critically-threatened tropical forest, called the Chocó-Manabí Conservation Corridor. WHAT'S AT STAKE: ● Tropical forests cover less than 10% of the earth’s land surface but contain over 75% of the planet’s biodiversity. The earth’s great warehouse of Life is here. ● In just 1,600 acres of tropical forest, JCR protects more species from extinction per acre than any national park in the United States. ● Over 500,000 acres of land are in play along the Chocó-Manabí Conservation Corridor, which includes forested land in need of urgent conservation in addition to previously deforested land with the potential for restoration. ● JCR provides habitat for a Critically Endangered primate called the Ecuadorian White-Fronted Capuchin Monkey, which is on the brink of extinction. JCR is one of the only wildlife refuges where this animal has been seen. The existence of an entire species of primate largely depends on the success of this project. ● More endangered and threatened bird species have been sighted in JCR than in any other Important Bird Area (IBA) in Ecuador, which is the country with the highest diversity of birds per area in the world. ● The forests of JCR generate the only year-round source of clean water for everyone who lives and farms downstream. With your help and participation, we are building an ecological legacy for the next generation and demonstrating that people and nature can thrive as one!