FAQ

Historically, cattle ranching is the leading cause of deforestation in coastal Ecuador, followed by slash-and-burn agriculture, mostly for corn cultivation. Monoculture plantations of palm oil trees and teak trees also play a significant role. Along the shoreline, mangrove forests have been cleared to make way for shrimp farms. 

In general terms, the driver of deforestation in coastal Ecuador and throughout tropical Latin America is unsustainable agricultural expansion, which is primarily driven by the demand for meat and dairy. Cattle ranching, alone, causes 71% of deforestation in South America. In coastal Ecuador in particular, cattle are primarily raised to produce beef. 

Sources:

• Cattle, Cleared Forests and Climate Change
• Land Use Patterns and Related Carbon Losses Following Deforestation in South America
• Tropical Rainforests: Drivers of Deforestation
• Causes and Consequences of Deforestation in Ecuador
• Biological Extinction in Western Ecuador

Prior to the 20th century, the vast majority of coastal Ecuador was blanketed with a diversity of tropical forests—including Chocó rainforest, premontane cloud forest, seasonal moist evergreen forest, tropical dry forest, and mangrove forests. Since then, it is estimated that 98% of its original forest has been lost. 

The Amazon, in contrast, has lost 20% of its forest. It has been (partially) protected from deforestation by virtue of its relative inaccessibility. 

Coastal Ecuador has suffered much higher rates of deforestation mostly because of its location and accessibility. Coastal Ecuador is sandwiched in between the relatively populous Andean highlands and the Pacific Ocean, both of which serve as entry points into the region. This paved the way for frontiersmen and agricultural expansion, which was accelerated by government subsidies that incentivized clearing forests for cattle ranching. Banana plantations, palm oil plantations, and now teak and balsa plantations followed suit. Much of Ecuador’s fruit production also comes from the coastal region. 

Short Answer: Coastal Ecuador is located at the nexus between some of the most powerful ecological forces on the planet: to the west is the Pacific Ocean, to the east is the Andes mountain range, to the north is the wettest forest on earth, and to the south is the driest desert on earth. As a result, Chocó rainforest, premontane cloud forest, seasonal moist evergreen forest, tropical dry forest, and mangrove forests all coincide in one fantastically biodiverse region.

Ocean currents, elevation, and latitude are what drive the variations in moisture levels in coastal Ecuador. In turn, moisture levels primarily drive variations in vegetation and wildlife. 

Long Answer: The cold waters of the Humboldt ocean current are generated off the southern tip of South America and flow up along the coast of the continent, creating the world’s driest desert (the Atacama) in western Chile and Peru. And the Jama-Coaque Reserve is located in the very middle of all of this. 

The warm waters of the El Niño ocean current, which is generated offshore of tropical Central America, create the wettest forests in the world, on the coast of Colombia. 

Coastal Ecuador is located at the convergence of these two ocean currents and the ecological extremes which they create, accounting for the dramatic climatic variations that characterize the diverse ecology of the Pacific coast of Ecuador. Throughout the region, rainfall varies sharply, along both the north-to-south gradient and as a function of elevation. Average annual rainfall ranges from over 4,000 mm at the Colombian border to as little as 100 mm at the Peruvian border. 

Even within the same latitude, there can be xeric (very dry) conditions along the shoreline and then pluvial (very wet) conditions as little as six kilometers inland along the peaks of the coastal mountains. Species characteristic of both of these extreme conditions can often be found cohabitating within the same stream valley.

The ocean also generates a fog layer that shrouds the peaks of the coastal mountains most of the year, creating cloud forests. At this elevation, much of the annual precipitation is generated in the form of fog drip (also called horizontal precipitation), in which fog condenses on plant foliage and then drips down onto the ground below. The cloud forest is wet and green every day of the year, even during the dry season. Conversely, the forests along the shores of the ocean are deciduous and lose their leaves during the dry season, in the same way that a temperate forest sheds its leaves in winter. In some parts of the Pacific Ecuadorian Forest, cloud forest and deciduous forest are separated by as little as four kilometers. Between these two local extremes lies a unique forest type called “seasonal moist evergreen forest.”

Not to mention the mangrove forests along the shoreline, although these have largely disappeared because of shrimp farming.

Short Answer: No. The area is primarily populated by the descendants of 20th-century frontiersmen and colonists from other parts of Ecuador. What happened in the 1900s of coastal Ecuador is remarkably similar to the westward expansion that occurred in North America during the 1800s.

Long Answer: The pre-Colombian civilization that thrived in the region—named Jama-Coaque—was driven to extinction shortly after the arrival of European explorers in the 16th century, mostly due to disease. The region was largely depopulated during the 1700s and 1800s, after which it was re-populated with colonists from other parts of Ecuador.

The first modern-day settler of the nearby community of Camarones (adjacent to what is now the Jama-Coaque Reserve) is said to have arrived in 1901. Prior to this, the whole area was utterly wild and forested. In one century of time, much of that forest was lost. Most of the remaining forest is isolated to the upper stretches of the coastal mountain range, which is where the Jama-Coaque Reserve was born.

In the sphere of ecological conservation and restoration, ethical questions are critically important—and not only for ethical reasons. A project that fails people will also face greater resistance and be harder to sustain over the long term. So it’s also a practical issue. This reality is at the core of our approach. 

All of the lands that TMA has purchased to create the Jama-Coaque Reserve were previously uninhabited and owned by absentee landowners. Many of the previous landowners inherited the property from their parents, and some of them had never even set foot on the land. A fundamental criterion that we abide by, when deciding which forested properties to purchase and protect, is to not displace anyone. 

The mere fact that nobody is currently occupying unprotected forest, and that the legal owners of the land aren’t actively caring for it, is a big part of the problem. The overexploitation of the rainforest in this particular region is a vivid illustration of the “tragedy of the commons.”

Forests that are unoccupied, unmanaged, and unmonitored become easy prey to illegal logging, illegal hunting, and “hit and run” agriculture, in which a parcel of forest is cleared, planted with corn for one season, and then abandoned. This cycle was gradually eroding this particular rainforest. In most parts of the region, the process was unchecked and resulted in total deforestation. 

Total deforestation is not good for anyone—most of all the people who live downstream of the forest. The large swath of forest in the Jama-Coaque Reserve is the factory that creates the water in the river that sustains all of the communities downstream. If this river dries up, all of the communities that depend on it will collapse. 

The only reason the river continues to run is that the headwaters of the river are densely forested. The fog and clouds that blow in from the ocean are “harvested” by the leaves of the trees. The water vapor condenses into water on the surface of the leaves, the water drips down into the forest, and slowly finds its way into the streams. There is not enough surface area on pasture grass to harvest enough water vapor to sustain this effect. If this forest is lost, the river dries up, and the community collapses. This is a socio-ecological fact.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 1500s, there is reason to believe that these forests were sustainably managed by the Jama-Coaque civilization that thrived in the region. Or at the very least, the population density was low enough such that the ecological footprint was minimal. 

This indigenous civilization was driven to extinction. The inhabitants that took their place were frontiersmen and colonists from other parts of Ecuador. What happened in the 1900s of coastal Ecuador is remarkably similar to the westward expansion that occurred in North America during the 1800s. The new inhabitants of this region lacked deep ancestral roots in this ecosystem, lacked ancestral knowledge, and their land-use decisions were strongly influenced by government subsidies that incentivized clearing forests to graze cattle and grow corn.

This is the reality of the situation in which this particular forest finds itself today. It is a deeply wounded ecosystem that is presently on the verge of expiring.

TMA’s job is twofold: 1) help stop the bleeding, and 2) to help restore it to health. 

The most effective way to stop the bleeding is to protect as much of the existing rainforest as we can, so long as we don’t displace anyone in the process. The most effective way to protect the existing rainforest is to purchase it and actively protect it. That has been the principal focus of our work since 2007.

We are happy to report that this particular rainforest has stopped bleeding, thanks to the fact that it is being managed as a protected area. In this particular case, we believe this was the best approach. But now that the forest has stopped bleeding, the next task is to restore it to health. This is what our Community Reforestation Program is designed to do, but it’s designed in such a way that couples restoration with economic opportunities for people who live in the communities that surround the forest. 

Whenever ecological conservation and/or restoration is pitted against people, there will inevitably be a loser. That is the nature of a zero-sum scenario. Everything we do is aimed at making conservation and restoration something that benefits people. We know that if we fail to do this, the entire project will fail. And that can’t happen. 

This isn’t to say that we’re still learning. Our approach is constantly evolving. The north star that we use to orient our action is creating benefits from conservation and restoration for people in this area and beyond.

Regenerative agroforestry is an agricultural method that mimics natural forest ecosystems. Phrased differently: it’s a forest restoration method that employs a diversity of trees that also produce food and income for people.

The model of regenerative agroforestry that TMA uses for its Community Reforestation Program combines big native shade trees, fruit trees, heirloom cacao trees, and banana and plantain crops—all interplanted in the same parcel of land. Like a forest. 

The big native shade trees perform the lion’s share of ecological services—including erosion control, watershed protection, sustaining the water cycle, soil fertility, habitat for wildlife, and removing CO2 from the atmosphere. The fruit trees, banana, plantain, and cacao provide local food security and a sustainable revenue stream for each family that participates.

We’ve created a 2-minute animated video to answer this exact question. Check it out: Reversing Deforestation with Regenerative Agroforestry: How We Do It

In the strictest definition, conventional reforestation is the act of converting degraded land back into a forest that resembles its native vegetation. When this is done on uninhabited land that nobody depends on for food or income, this is usually a good idea. 

But if the land is inhabited, or people do actively depend on it for food and income, conventional reforestation can be problematic. It pits the needs of nature against the needs of people. This is a conflict that usually doesn’t end well—for one side or the other. It is a zero-sum approach to ecological restoration.

Regenerative agroforestry is an agricultural method that mimics natural forest ecosystems. That’s one way to describe it. We like to phrase it differently. It’s a forest restoration method that employs a diversity of trees that also produce food and income for people. It is a win-win strategy for people and the planet.

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are financial incentives offered to landowners in exchange for managing their land to provide some sort of ecological service—for example, planting trees that remove carbon from the atmosphere. That’s the most common example.

Another example is paying landowners to preserve forest at the headwaters of a river that provides drinking water to a large city downstream. In this case, the people downstream quantify the value of a clean and consistent water source, and then pay the people upstream to manage their land accordingly. Think of it as an economic solution to an ecological problem.

PES projects were pioneered by Costa Rica in the 1990s. Since then, they’ve become increasingly popular in the realm of conservation and reforestation. Technically, most carbon offset projects are also PES projects. 

The world’s largest landscape restoration project is a PES program implemented by China, nicknamed “Grain for Green”. Cash incentives to 32 million households have triggered the restoration of over 28 million hectares over two decades. In the US, there are numerous ongoing PES programs aimed at watershed protection—ranging from Florida and San Antonio to Vermont and Oregon.

Find us on Google Maps, which uses the Spanish name: “Reserva Jama-Coaque.”

The Jama-Coaque Reserve (JCR) is located 12 km south of the equator line and 5 km inland from the shores of the Pacific ocean in Ecuador, about halfway between the mid-sized towns of Pedernales and Jama, and about 3 km inland from the small agricultural community of Camarones. 

Jama-Coaque is the name of the ancient kingdom that thrived in these lands from 500 BC to 1531 AD. The Jama-Coaque civilization was driven to extinction shortly after the arrival of European explorers, mostly due to disease. The region was largely depopulated during the 1700s and 1800s, after which it was re-populated with colonists from other parts of Ecuador. The Jama-Coaque culture, famous for its unique style of artwork, left behind a vast amount of ceramic artifacts, some of which we’ve unearthed in the Jama-Coaque Reserve.

We did for many years, but we eventually discontinued our volunteer and intern programs. We found that the amount of time and effort required to manage volunteers and interns exceeded the amount of productive work that most people were able to provide, given the circumstances. So we changed our approach.

In the years since, we’ve built a great team of people, from the nearby community of Camarones, who carry out important duties and fill key roles—ranging from field assistants to high-level managers. This new approach has greatly improved the management of the Jama-Coaque Reserve. It’s also an important source of jobs and income for people in the community.

TMA was founded in 2007. This is the same year that TMA established the Jama-Coaque Reserve. 

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To’ak Chocolate is a for-profit social impact company based in Ecuador. It exclusively sources its chocolate from the highest-quality cacao in Ecuador and makes a conscious effort to pay farmers the highest cacao prices in the world—up to 820% above the Fair Trade price. 

TMA and To’ak formed a strategic partnership to preserve and revive Ecuador’s most endangered heirloom cacao varieties. Together they created a micro-parcel to protect some of the last surviving Ancient Nacional cacao trees in Ecuador in the Jama-Coaque Reserve. 

Today, TMA and To’ak are partnering with local farmers and distributing the progeny of these very same cacao trees within TMA’s Community Reforestation Program.  Once these trees begin to produce, To’ak offers to buy this cacao at 3-9x the price of conventional cacao. This will significantly increase farmers’ earnings potential and helps ensure the long-term sustainability of regenerative agroforestry in this region.

The cacao growers in the Community Reforestation Program are under no obligation to sell their cacao to To’ak or any other buyer.