“My dream is for El Chaco to become a global reference for conservation and for showing how we can earn a living without destroying nature. Because this is our planet.”
— Dayana, student and local birding guide, El Chaco
El Chaco canton is surrounded by two of Ecuador’s most biodiverse national parks, yet it faces some of the highest deforestation pressure in the Amazon. Since 2021, ALIADOS has worked with local farmers, schools like Unidad Educativa El Chaco, and the Municipal Government to actively restore areas on farms where the forest was turned into pasture for extensive cattle ranching.
Since 2025, these efforts have expanded to support the improved governance of a 44,000-hectare Conservation and Sustainable Use Area, where communities and institutions make collective decisions about their territory. The area provides refuge for the mountain tapir and the Andean eagle, two endangered species actively monitored and protected by ALIADOS and Fundación Cóndor Andino. More than 20,000 native trees and shrubs have been planted in El Chaco to restore degraded areas, while 50 producers are transitioning toward more sustainable practices, like the production of a bird-friendly coffee.
At Unidad Educativa El Chaco, students learn to work with endangered and locally important tree species. They also participate in planting days to restore the forest and discover that conservation is another way of inhabiting and caring for their territory. Students like Dayana did not wait for the problem to grow. They chose to become part of the solution.
Since 2021, ALIADOS has worked alongside El Chaco’s communities and institutions to plant more than 20,000 native trees and shrubs to restore degraded areas, while 50 farmers are transitioning toward more sustainable practices, like the production of a bird-friendly coffee.
