Land acquisition

Mountain Forest vs. Lowland Forest The species density of Andean mountain forests is a higher than those of lowland forests of the Amazon basin. Of course, the Amazon forests in the sum achieves higher species numbers, due to its immense surface and because of a high number of tree species with a very small distribution area. Due to their restricted, strip-like extension along a certain altitudinal level, the total area of mountain forest is much smaller than that of the lowland forest. Therefore, they are more affected by deforestation. In addition, many species only show a limited elevation range. The species spectrum constantly changes with the altitude. In other words, in order to protect all species or habitats, conservation areas are needed in every elevation zone.
The mountain zone of the Andes, with their often pleasant climate and with partly arable soils, are much more densely populated than the Amazon basin. Therefore, the clearing pressure is much higher. Pessimistic predictions say that in Ecuador no mountain forests outside protected areas will exist in the foreseeable future. A lot of forest is owned privately. Tree harvesting without reforestation is generally permitted, because from a state or economic point of view, forest yields little return, while the agricultural land that can be gained thereby yields something.

Inaccessibility vs. development For many of these remaining private forests, the best protection is inaccessibility due to steep slopes and lack of roads. The owners can possibly fell individual trees for their own use, but mostly not more.
This changes abruptly and dramatically when a road is built through a large forest area. The areas along the road become easily accessible agricultural areas. They increase in value and will be cleared sooner or later, even if only to establish ownership. This in turn has two fatal consequences:

1. A narrow forest road with a natural surface and without marginal extensions is still crossable for the vast majority of animals. If there are large open areas on both sides of the street, an unbridgeable barrier is created, which is especially dramatic for monkeys. This is expected to separate their populations forever.
2. The forest protects the soil from erosion. The high rainfall quickly washes away bare soil, especially on the widespread steep slopes. The remaining nutrients in the topsoil are consumed by the crops. What remain are badlands, often pesticide-damaged. They are used at best as low-yield pasture or left to themselves. Reforestation is virtually non-existent.

Connecting road 2008 Exactly this scenario - road construction through a large, coherent forest area - occurred in 2008 at the northern border of Ecuador. Two previously separated valleys, the Mira Valley and the San Juan Valley, have been connected by a 25 km long road. It starts and ends at 1100 m above sea level on each side and leads over a plateau in the range of 1800-2300 m above sea level.

Naranjilla The predominant crop in this area is Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense), a large herb which is called Lulo in Colombia.
Primary forest is still being cleared for new Naranjilla fields. As a rule of thumb, the farmer earns more or less $ 2000 with a narajilla field of one hectare (100 x 100 m) within two years. After that, the soil is so eroded and contaminated with pathogens (Fusarium) that the culture has to be abandoned. However, for these $2000 the farmer has to work for two years. He has to bear additional costs for vehicles, equipment, fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and growth hormones. The bottom line is about $1000. This corresponds to about the price for a hectare (100 x 100 m) of primary forest. In other words, whoever sells the forest instead of clearing it, is about the same financially, with the difference that in one case there is still primary forest in the end, in the other case only destroyed land.
So our clear strategy is to buy as much forest as possible. We are limited only by available resources.

Climate protection Although this is not the primary goal, the forest (in place of wasteland) will of course bind much more carbon. The almost 20 sq km (2000 ha), which are preserved, thereby also contribute to climate protection.