In Defense of Biodiversity in Intag, Ecuador | 2022

Photo Credit: Carlos Zorrilla and Decoin

A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT AT RISK

Inside just 4,929 hectares, Ecuador’s Intag region spans two of the world’s most biologically significant areas within the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot, including the Cotacachi Cayapas National Park. Intag is home to over one hundred species at risk of extinction, including 16 mammals, 22 frogs, 12 plants, two reptiles, and one fish species. Covered in cloud forests, agricultural lands, pastures, rivers, lakes, native Andean alpine grasslands (páramo in Spanish), and native bamboo, Intag also boasts two endemic frogs and two critically endangered monkeys. Among numerous services, Intag’s ecosystems sequester and store carbon and generate income for local communities. These critical services and unique species, however, are threatened by mining operations.

A WEALTH OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES UNDER THREAT

In 2011, Earth Economics published An Ecological Study of Ecuador’s Intag Region: The Environmental Impacts and Potential Rewards of Mining with the support of UK-based Rainforest Concern and Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag (DECOIN), a grassroots environmental organization devoted to conserving northwestern Ecuador’s unique biodiversity. In that report, the ecosystem services valued included climate stability, flood protection, drinking water purification and supply, wildlife habitat, pollination, soil erosion control, soil formation, biological control, nutrient cycling, raw materials, waste treatment, food production, aesthetic, and recreational values. The 2011 research found that 17 of 23 ecosystem services across the landcover types in Intag provide the regional and national community an average of $485 million (2022 USD$) in yearly benefits. By considering the potential value of mining in the region, the report concludes that the risks of mining far outweigh the benefits. The Intag region’s resources can support sustainable, equitable, and prosperous development regionally and nationally.

A COMMUNITY TAKES ACTION

In 2022, regional Intag community leaders used the 2011 report to support an amicus brief in a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government over mining concessions. Earth Economics was present at the Provincial Court of Justice of Imburra to present the amicus brief. This case is headed to Ecuador’s Supreme Court, where it is likely to establish a key precedent for the fate of other cloud forests in the country.