Conservation Efforts in Bilsa
12.5% of the Bilsa region is under some form of protection, but only 6.9% of the land is protected under IUCN’s categories I through IV. These categories are defined by the type of activity designated for the protected areas. The first categories include Strict Nature Reserve, Wilderness Area, National Park, Natural Monument or Feature, and Habitat/Species Management Area, each with varying levels of human activity and varying physical areas of protection. 6.9% is not adequate to protect even a small amount of the land and biodiversity present in this region. There are a number of small private reserves, like the Bilsa Biological Reserve, and indigenous reserves that are important for preservation, even though they do not necessarily ensure biodiversity conservation.
There is a large effort to establish a wildlife corridor in this region, between Ecuador and Colombia, called the Choco-Manabí Conservation Corridor. This corridor aims to connect multiple national parks in these countries, by protecting the spaces of land in between these parks to act as protected migration zones for species. Conservation International and the Global Conservation Fund are currently acting together to protect some of the last remaining intact lowland forest in the region.
There is a large effort to establish a wildlife corridor in this region, between Ecuador and Colombia, called the Choco-Manabí Conservation Corridor. This corridor aims to connect multiple national parks in these countries, by protecting the spaces of land in between these parks to act as protected migration zones for species. Conservation International and the Global Conservation Fund are currently acting together to protect some of the last remaining intact lowland forest in the region.