Using advanced technology to guide regional conservation in Northern Ecuador’s Andes – Amazon region

Fundación Jocotoco (Jocotoco) operates to safeguard Ecuador’s rich biodiversity. Central to their conservation strategy is the Amazon-Andes Programme in Northeastern Ecuador where the convergence of the Andes and Amazon generates impressive biodiversity Jocotoco is committed to extending protection beyond its reserves in the Amazon-Andes region by forging partnerships with the Sumaco Napo Galeras National Park and Kijos/Kichwa communities . Jocotoco is focusing its efforts on a 200,000-hectare area around the Narupa Reserve to bolster regional, landscape-scale conservation. This collaborative approach ensures a holistic and sustainable conservation strategy. 

Over the past year, Jocotoco has harnessed cutting-edge technologies like remote sensing and artificial intelligence to augment conservation efforts around the Narupa Reserve. Advanced remote sensing allows us them to monitor threats such as deforestation and fire risks, and assess environmental parameters like ecosystem intactness, connectivity, and animal distribution and occupancy. Additionally, Jocotoco is pioneering the expansion of AI models for the automated acoustic identification of bird, frog, and mammal calls. 

This project will build on the initial data already collected, replicating studies to validate and strengthen the model and establish a baseline. The results will allow them to understand how threats and biodiversity vary by land use (protected areas, agricultural areas, buffer zones), type of protected area (state, community, indigenous, private), and over time.  Jocotoco will identify the most important habitats for key species and assess the types and levels of threats facing those habitats. This data will be used to plan and prioritise conservation activities in the Amazon-Andes region. Finally, the development of an AI model for monitoring on a landscape level will serve as a catalyst for integrating advanced technology with conservation practices globally, providing a model that can be deployed in other critical areas of Ecuador and beyond.