Protecting and managing forests to build socio-ecological resilience in Ecuador

Indigenous peoples and local communities (PICLs) of the Southern Dry Forest, North-West and South-Eastern Cloud Forest and the Amazon Rainforest contribute to improving the resilience of forest landscapes and the socio-ecological environment they inhabit, ensuring a triple benefit for biodiversity, climate and the well-being of the inhabitants The outcome in Ecuador focuses on improving the resilience of forest ecosystems in the Southern Dry Forest, the North-West and South-Eastern Cloud Forest and the Amazon Rainforest. The program empowers local communities to become better guardians of the forests they inhabit. To achieve this, BOS+ identified 5 local partners specialized in sustainable forest management, forest conservation, improved agroforestry practices, forest restoration and education. By training ´sentinels´ or environmental monitors the program will improve forest conservation. They will monitor borders, forest changes, and hot spots, contributing to fire prevention. At the same time, we will support campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of forests. Local communities will be strengthened to develop qualitative sustainable forest management plans, being an essential part of forest conservation. We will also focus on sustainable ways to generate income and secure the livelihood of local communities, through the provision of sustainably harvested and cualitative forest products. The program will expand, improve and diversify agroforestry practices. The objective is to extend the duration of farmland use by applying improved agroforestry systems. This way, the program will also boost product quality and benefit the health of local consumers. Forest restoration areas will be enriched with local species and new restoration techniques. Policy work, both locally and nationally, will be key to achieving this result. The established partner mix will strengthen the policy work, as partners with more experience in policy work can rely on the input of local beneficiaries. Administrative and technical management capacities will be improved through mutual learning, also for beneficiary organizations and BOS+. Last but not least an inovative educational proyect will exchange between kids in the South of Ecuador and Belgium, allowing a boost in their local educational system and self esteem.