We wanted to update you on a few land-buy and protection
campaigns from the past year or two. Because there is some BIG
news to share:
We just helped buy the
most species-rich place on Earth: the Pitalala Reserve,
Ecuador
Last year we ran two campaigns for the Pitalala Reserve in Ecuador, a mind-blowing place
in the Amazon that scientists argue has more species per square
kilometer than anywhere else on the planet. In late December, we
were rushing to meet a deadline to help buy the
land and protect it forever…
And we did it! We’ll
let Alejandro Arteaga, the
CEO of our partner Khamai Foundation, let you in on the
details:
“We got it!! Still shaking with
excitement, and I can barely type. Thank you so much.
Not only that but we lost no time at
all and purchased the land in record time with your support.
We are moved by the amount of passion
and support coming from the network of Ekō supporters, which feels
like a family. This strength-in-numbers approach gave us much-needed
renewed hope in the project and it allowed us to provide the down
payment on the land (halting its ongoing destruction) and, a few
days ago, is what made it possible for us to complete the
purchase, incorporating the land into the Pitalala Reserve. It is
astonishing the amount of life we have saved! Not only
centuries-old Amazonian trees, but thousands of animal species,
including a large jaguar that was recorded by our park ranger a few
weeks ago. It is time for a collective celebration in honour of the
Amazon and the vibrant living community we have just saved. A
victory over the miners has been won.
May all the living spirits in the
Amazon bless you all with good fortune.”
Here’s a photo of Alejandro signing one of the purchase
agreements:
In fact, there was some extra
good news. Ekō members were so generous at the end of the
year that Khamai was not only able to protect the originally
selected land: they also bought an adjoining plot that extends
protection even further.
You can see more details in this video on Khamai’s YouTube.
They’ve already put up a sign, and there’s Ekō, right there,
thanks to all your support:
You can see more photos from the reserve here on Khamai's Instagram.
We’re very excited to see what happens with this reserve in the
months and years to come.
But Vladimir, that’s
not all. We have updates on 6 more land protection projects our
community has contributed to: read on for the latest!
Creating a new haven for
pangolins in Guinea
A mining company was set to destroy one of the last places where pangolins – the most
trafficked mammals on Earth – can be safe in the wild.
So Eko members donated to help create a massive national park in
pangolin-rich Guinea, where mining and poaching would be BANNED.
And we’re juuust about to get
it.
According to our partners at Rainforest Trust, this project is
on track and more than 95% of the way to achieving protected status.
The national park should be formally declared early this
year!
The new national park that we helped create will connect to the
adjacent Outamba and Kilimi National Parks to the south in Sierra
Leone, creating a vast, transnational wildlife corridor for
wide-roaming species like elephants.
To celebrate, here’s a video of a group of forest elephants
roaming the area, captured on a camera trap (the video is a
couple of years old but shows you the magic of this place!).
Protecting the world’s
largest wetland in Brazil
Brazil’s Pantanal is an environmental wonderland home to fascinating
species like giant otters, giant armadillos, and the densest
population of jaguars on the planet.
But climate change and tourism are putting the world’s largest
wetland in serious peril. So Eko members went to work to help buy
and protect over 300,000 acres to prevent exploitation and protect
animals and local communities from devastating fires.
The project isn’t yet complete, but it’s progressing well, with
about 20% of the land officially purchased and more in progress.
Conservation management activities are ongoing, including field
patrols and infrastructure improvements for the purchased
properties.
The world’s largest wetland is much safer than before!
2.2 million acres of
intact Amazon rainforest, to be protected forever
In 2024, we ran a campaign to save 2.2 million acres of one of the oldest and
largest remaining stretches of intact Amazon rainforest, in
Guyana.
Here’s the latest, from Rainforest Trust: “The project is
progressing well at approximately 15% of the way toward formal
protected area creation of the Wapichan Headwater Conserved Area.
The majority of the project staff and consultants have been hired,
the project has been socialized with the local Indigenous community
council, and a protected area creation Working Group has been
established.”
A home for the cotton-top
tamarins of Colombia
We’ve updated you on this before,
but with help from Ekō members, our partners successfully
purchased over 1,000 acres of land, significantly expanding the forest
reserve "Los Titíes de San Juan" in northern Colombia. It’s a
game-changer for the charismatic cotton-top tamarins that will give
the 7000 remaining tamarins left in the wild a chance to recover and
thrive.
This expansion nearly doubled the size of the reserve, which now protects more than 2000 acres
for cotton-top tamarins, native wildlife, and the well-being of
local communities.
Protecting a mountain
wilderness with half of Argentina’s biodiversity
Loggers and ranchers were
sharpening their chainsaws and plotting to bulldoze the Yungas
forest. Their plan? Turn this breathtaking
wilderness into
pastureland, erasing decades of ecological complexity in the blink
of an eye.
Well, we’ve stopped them.
With the help of the Eko
community, 11,990 acres of highly intact forest in Argentina’s
Southern Andean Yungas region are now officially
protected, connecting two
existing parks to complete a 229,538 acre conservation
area home to nearly half of the
country’s biodiversity.
Want to see a camera trap photo of a jaguar in the new protected area we
helped create?
A lifeline for the world’s
last bonobos
Deep in the Congo rainforest is an
irreplaceable stretch
of wilderness where
bonobos coexist in harmony with the Bakela people, who for
generations have honoured and protected these gentle
apes.
This precious place is a
lifeline for the world’s last bonobos and countless other
species teetering on the brink.
But under serious threat of
vanishing altogether, the Eko community has rallied more than once.
Our partners at the Bonobo Conservation Institute have this to
say:
“Thanks to support from the Ekō
community, our efforts to protect the irreplaceable forests of
Lilungu are gaining real momentum. Your partnership has been instrumental in
helping us move from vision to action — ensuring that this
extraordinary forest, home to endangered bonobos and countless other
species, is one step closer to lasting protection.”
Our donations have helped connect
the Lilunguforest to an international research initiative for
bonobos – and launched a brand new 15-month mission in the field in
October – and it’s already drawing attention as a hotspot for
conservation and community-driven science.
Our partners are also soon kicking
off community consultations that are the next critical step to
having the area recognised as an officially protected forest.
There will be more to come,
and more opportunities to help!
--
We’ve done so much work as a
community to help protect nature, including taking part in these
inspiring land buy projects. It’s really not every day you get the
chance to contribute to setting aside a piece of nature for
permanent protection…but we’re glad we get the opportunity to do it
a few times a year!
We’ll be in touch with more
updates on our land-buy campaigns from Bolivia to Madagascar to
Indonesia and more when we hear from partners. Until then…thank
you!
