12/04/2018
Wildlife conservation charity
World Land Trust (WLT) is urgently raising funds to protect tropical forest in the
Amazonian Andes of Ecuador, where hundreds of species are threatened by
plans to build a road through virgin forest.
The Amazonian Andes is one of the
richest habitats on Earth, where the wildlife of the Amazon basin meets the
montane species of the Andes Mountain Range. However, only an estimated 25 per
cent of the natural habitat in the tropical Andes remains intact.
As agricultural practices
intensify across the South American continent, resulting in the clearance of
rainforests, the remaining patches of natural habitat are increasingly isolated
from each other, and often only remain secure in parks or reserves under
national protection. Maintaining the connections between these areas is vital
for allowing species such as Harpy
Eagle and Spectacled Bear to move between forest areas and for
connecting populations of less widely ranging species such as amphibians. These
connections are also increasingly important in the face of climate change, as
intact natural corridors will allow species to move in response to changing
weather patterns and habitats.
