We have great news – and one more call to action. Our
partners in Ecuador have almost everything they need to buy this
species-rich wonderland. Our support helped them make a
down payment, and get grants from major conservation funders.
Now they just need one last push before a December 27th
deadline to get every last dollar they need for the full
payment!
This is what they told us: “This is a real deadline because
if we do not come up with the payment by then, the seller can decide
to turn around and legally sell the property to the miners or any of
the other interested parties.”
There’s real risk, but we can do this, Vladimir.
Chip in to help buy and protect this ecosystem forever.
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This is mind-blowing: there’s a place in the Amazon that
scientists argue has more species per square kilometer than
anywhere else on the planet. Ferocious jaguars, emerald
green boas, powerful harpy eagles, shy tapirs, and more…all sharing
the same forest home (see lots of pictures below!!)
But this pinnacle of biodiversity is under critical threat:
the mouth of Ecuador’s Anzu River has been included in a concession
to a gold mining company, TerraEarth. The only way to stop a
mine from being ripped into the heart of this paradise is to buy the
surrounding land, ensuring the company can’t get the
legally-required permissions from landowners…because the landowners
would be *US*.
Actually, we’d help our local partner, Khamai, buy the land and
incorporate it into the neighbouring Pitalala reserve. The newly
expanded reserve would be a haven for nature and scientific
research, a rewilded paradise protected forever. If
we can act fast.
This sounds dramatic, but these are the stakes: can you
chip in to help us save what might *literally* be the most
species-rich place on Earth?
I'll donate $3I'll donate $4 I'll donate $5I'll donate $9I'll donate another amount
Creating this protected area is urgent. Even aside from
the concession, illegal gold mining in the area is exploding and
miners are offering to rent or purchase land at above market value.
Owners are looking to sell and have already received offers from the
miners. Our partners are in touch with the landowners and have
the opportunity to acquire the land before the miners do (they
prefer the land conserved!) – but only if we act now.
This is what this incredible area should look like, pristine and
untouched – the part of the reserve that already exists:
But the surrounding land is being
devastated:
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And it’s happening fast:
It’s hard to find a more obvious case for urgent conservation
action. The place that might have more species density than
anywhere else on Earth vs total devastation to mine gold.
And we have great partners to do it. Khamai works with local
communities Mulchiyacu and Zatzayacu, to promote sustainable
economic alternatives to illegal mining, like ecotourism and
conservation-based employment, to ensure there’s incentive to keep
the land safe. They’ll also work to restore land that has already
been damaged, and eventually to get UNESCO protection status for
this irreplaceable piece of the planet.
Vladimir, our community has bought critically-threatened pieces
of nature before. But never in a place with *this* much natural
life…because there might not be another place on Earth to match it.
Can you chip in to buy and protect this part of the Ecuadorian
Amazon – and fuel campaigns like this to protect people and the
planet from profit-hungry corporations, worldwide?
I'll donate $3I'll donate $4 I'll donate $5I'll donate $9I'll donate another amount
We wanted to include a few more pictures
of wildlife to share the richness and beauty of this place.
Here’s a tapir, poking its head out:
A coiled Emerald Boa:
A hiding Spix’s night monkey:
And a spectacular tree frog:
Their home could be destroyed. Or
we could prevent it. Join in:
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Your donation will help power
Ekō and our campaigns worldwide fighting for people and the
planet.
