Program for AZE Habitat and Watershed Protection in the Andes

In late 2009, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) approached Rare to launch a series of campaigns in the Andes protecting the forest habitats of highly endangered species. In our search for communities that had curbed defor-estation, Rare identified Fundación Natura Bolivia’s successful experience pairing upstream and downstream farmers to reduce deforesta¬tion and increase water quantity and quality.

With support from multiple donors and partners, Rare is running a cohort of 11 Pride campaigns in the Andes replicating this solution.

The community-based solution

The framework for the cohort is straightforward: Lowland farmers, who depend on stewardship of highland watershed habitats, contribute to a conservation fund.

The fund provides “payments” to the highland landowners as an incentive to maintain healthy forests. The most popular payments are barbed wire, fruit trees, and bee keeping equipment. Pride campaigns accelerate and deepen community support for this approach.

The video below provides an overview of the original solution on which Rare has built its 11-site program in the Andes.

Before launching a cohort of campaigns in the Andes in early 2010, Rare and its partners spent close to a year developing a tailored Theory of Change. The process began by setting the conservation target. In this case, the goal is to protect more than 200,000 hectares of forests in one of the world’s most ecologically diverse ecosystems. The plan for reaching this goal is similar at all 11 sites, although each will tailor its Pride campaign tactics and messaging to speak to local culture and social norms.

Over the next few years, Rare and its partners also hope to leverage local successes to influence national policy and funding for scaling this approach more broadly.

Dr. Nigel Asquith, Fundacion Natura Bolivia, describes the goal of working with Rare and other partners in the Andes.

Robert Yaguache, Director of Reciprocal Agreements at Rare, on how and why these agreements work (Q&A)

How does deforestation impact water supply and quality?
Deforestation alters the hydrologic cycle, causing the gradual decrease in the capacity of soil and the ecosystem to retain or store water temporarily. Usually after deforestation, soil is used for agriculture and livestock. These two activities result in the loss of organic matter on the ground, altering the porosity due to compaction by livestock and large quantities of soil are lost to erosion due to these agricultural practices.

Deforestation causes soil in the watersheds to not have good storage capacity or temporary retention. This increases surface runoff in a short time and decreases the availability of water in times of drought. Increased runoff also increases the amount of sediment in the water, so the quality is also diminished.

Vegetation, especially along creeks and rivers (riparian areas), plays a crucial role by acting as a natural filter for trapping sediments and nutrients, while also improving the temperature and amount of dissolved oxygen. Read the rest of the Q&A.

Updates from the field

1. A song to encourage citizens to protect the environment of the Yanuncay Watershed, Ecuador (audio slideshow)
2. When the streets got their names: Watershed protection kicks off in Zumba, Ecuador (story)
3. Murals in Zumba, Ecuador to educate and inspire people to protect water resources and forests (photo gallery)
4. A week’s look at local conservation on the ground in Columbia (photo essay)