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 Andes to the Amazon: The Ecuador Project

	NEW! SUMMER 2012 July 1, 2012 - August 12, 2012 12 semester units (equivalent to 18 quarter units) Meeting Place: Quito, Ecuador Program Fee: $3100                  Fee Due: May 1, 2012 Space available

THE PROJECT

Ecuador gets its name from the fact that it is situated on the equator, in the northern Andes that ring the western edge of the Amazon basin. Despite its small size, over 1,600 bird species have been catalogued, as well a diverse set of wildlife species including the Andean condor, spectacled bear, the ocelote, jaguar, and spider monkey. Team members will have opportunities for hands-on investigation of key species and habitats of Ecuador, as well as the management of these resources by local people.

We will do this by first becoming fluent with the geography of the region, including the topography, climate and natural history. We will then travel across a transect from the alpine ecosystems that ring snow-capped volcanoes, the Paramo grasslands and the highly threatened upper montane Polylepis woodland ecosystems, misty cloud forests laden with epiphytes, to the tropical forests and riverine systems of the submontane zone and the lowland Amazon. We will establish sample stations to develop an ecosystem profile at each of the major biomes along the elevational gradient, with the specific objective of comparing and contrasting the characteristics of still intact and human impacted habitats. At each sample station, this will potentially include field methods to sample vegetation, soils and water flows; monitor the status of wildlife through bird counts, mammal trapping, or observing grazing dynamics; and evaluate the intensity of human impacts through remote sensing of long term land use change.

Our next task will be to understand the influence of local cultures. At each sample station, opportunities exist for participatory research with local communities, including interviews and focus groups. Here we will document land management strategies, evaluate motivating factors for resource conservation and restoration, and identify opportunities and constraints for alternative sustainable economic uses such as ecotourism, non-timber use of forest resources, and agroecosystem management. The goal of this process is to share and present the results with the local communities and institutions that will be managing these valuable resources over the long term. Importantly, we will also take advantage of the many research stations, parks and reserves situated along our transect that enables us to interact with scientists and observe and participate in ongoing research projects.

This project represents an exciting opportunity to learn about the interaction between the natural environment and local communities in one of the most visually stunning and diverse spots on the planet. By the end of the project, we will all have gained a deeper understanding of the human – environment interaction from the highland Andes to the lowland Amazon of Ecuador, and how this influences conservation and ecosystem restoration.

Brett Hartman is a restoration ecologist who has worked on applied restoration projects and conducted research in the Andes, the Amazon, and in North America. He is currently teaches and is pursuing his PhD at the Geography Department of the University of California, Santa Barbara.