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El Comercio - May 4, 2008

The fauna and the flora of the south, unprotected

Megadiversity characterizes this zone that confronts Government NGO and assembly members.

Representatives of environmentalist organizations warn of a possible depredation of species by the decision of the minister of Atmosphere, Marcela Aguiñaga, to countermand the Ministerial Agreement 189, published in 1975, by means of which the National Forest Reserve of the Ecuadorian South was declared, in the provinces of Loja, Zamora Chinchipe and Oro.

More than 5,000 species of plants, 800 of birds and tens of animals, among which are counted the mountain tapir and spectacled bear, coexist in that area of than 4,000 square kms, that until the past 8th of February was denominated National Forest Reserve of the South.

On that date, the minister of the Atmosphere, Marcela Aguiñaga, resolved to lapse the Ministerial Agreement 189, published in 1975, by means of which state and private lands of the Ecuadorian south were declared a National Reserve which involves the provinces of Loja, Zamora Chinchipe and Oro.

The decision of the Secretary of State was including in the Official Registry this past 16 of April. The resolution agitates the spirits of the representatives of environmentalist organizations in this zone, that consider that the decision leaves the forests unprotected and facilitates over-exploitation of lumber species.

The measure takes a step “to another form of nonviable useage, with consequences such as lack of water and eroded areas”, said Wilson Guzmán, executive director of the Arcoiris Foundation, that has operated in Loja since 1989. Questioned on this subject, Aguiñaga said last week in an interview with this Newspaper that the agreement signed did not remove this zone from the reserve category. Nevertheless, according to the legal adviser of that Ministry, René Orb, the dry forests of Loja and the native ones of Zamora Chinchipe could be operated, although under certain norms.

In view of this, environmentalist Deborah Chiriboga maintains that it is necessary that the Minister clarifies if he indeed has retired this sector of the country from that category, and if it has given it a new designation. “It is not possible to guarantee that depredation will not exist when there are no controls”, she maintains.

The agreement signed by Aguiñaga refers that the Ministry of the Atmosphere “has determined the most adequate uses which should be given to the forests of the Ecuadorian south”. President of the Ecuadorian Coordinator of Organizations for the Defense of Nature and Medio Ambiente (Cedenma), Manolo Morals, criticized the decision, because Ecuador continues being one of the countries with the highest rate of deforestation in the continent. Morals is not in agreement with giving the “green light” to logging operations in that zone. “One thinks they have already recovered (the forests) and it is not so”, refering to the over-exploitation that occurred decades ago, which was the motivation for signing the 1975 agreement.

In a letter directed to the Secretary of State, the president of the Constituent Assembly, Alberto Acosta, referred to “the limited capacity (of the Ministry of the Atmosphere) to control the illegal logging”.

Acosta sent this letter as a point of order(?) to assembly member for Loja, Gorky Aguirre (AP), who assures that the decision of the Minister violates article 88 of the present Constitution, that indicates that “all state decisions that can affect the environment have to first meet the criteria of the community, which must be properly be informed”.

The environmentalist Faustus Lopez, who has worked in the conservation of the sector for the last decade, describes the resolution of the Ministry as a "low blow", because it puts at risk the balance of the ecosystem. “If the trees are affected, terrestrial animals and the birds are also affected”.

The Executive Director of Arcoiris considers that this type of agreement must motivate to analyze the lack of an integral territorial ordering. “Thus it is possible to determine which is the productive zone and where one intends to conduct conservation operations”, he noted.

The case also generates questions in other environmentalist areas like Natura Foundation, that after an analysis of the subject will issue a statement this week.

Characteristics:

The Southern region of Ecuador consists of a particular biological diversity due to its geographic characteristics, as is the case of the main cordillera of the Andes and the climate defined by the cold Humbolt current and the warm El Nino.

Threats:

At present this zone is threatened mainly by the road infrastructure development and mining activity, as resources of the subsoil are also very abundant in the region.

More risks:

Other threats exist, like the fragmentation of habitats by improper forestry operations, wild fires, extension of agricultural boundaries and uncontrolled hunting and fishing..

Opinions:

Wilson Guzmán FOUNDATION ARCOIRIS “Lamentably (the agreement signed by Aguiñaga) will be another form of unsustainable exploitation”.


Alberto Acosta PDTE. CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY “It is at least a rush to eliminate a protected area. This will have the effect of deforestation”

[translation-ebear - sorry if it's a bit ragged]