About Ecuador
Ecuador is officially called the Republic of Ecuador and it is bordered by Columbia to the north, with Peru on Ecuador’s east and south while the Pacific Ocean is in the west. The beautiful Galapagos Islands 1,000 kilometers west of of Ecuador’s mainland are also part of the vast diversity that makes up the country of Ecuador. Ecuador gets its name from equator as it runs through Ecuador just north of the capital city of Quito.
At zero degrees latitude you will find the famous landmark of Mitad del Mundo translated to the English meaning of ”middle of the world.
The Middle Of The World
Geographic Regions Of Ecuador
Ecuador is one of the most unique countries in the world due to its diverse geographic regions. Ecuador has three regions- The Coast, The Sierra and the Oriente also called the East. The Galapagos Islands are included as an insular region which make up the geographic regions of Ecuador.
For more information about the regions of Ecuador, please visit the Ecuador Tourist Board.
Yasuni National Park
Yasuni National Park in beautiful Ecuador is located in the Napo and Pastaza provinces in Ecuador’s Amazonian Region. The park has an area of 9,820 square km. For many who want to see this beautiful region, the capital city of Quito is 250 km away. In 1989 the park was designated officially a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In fact within this reserve there are several uncontacted indigenous tribes in the region. Most of Yasuni National Park is in Napo province which has moist forests, making this region mainly rain forest. Yasuni has potentially the most biologically diverse area on the planet. Scientists have studied the area and claim that the area has the highest concentration of biodiversity in the world. In one hectare of the park there has been 644 species of trees found making one hectare of Yasuni’s National Park have more trees than all of North America combined. The volume of plant, animals and insects in this region is incredible. There are many species here that are found nowhere else in the world.
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[highlighter color="yellow" ]Some quick facts about Yasuni National Park[/highlighter]
Estimated 100,000 insect species in a single hectare.
150 amphibian species documented.
596 bird species to date.
Largest oil reserve in Ecuador of approximately 900 million barrels of heavy crude.
Contains 20 globally threatened mammal species such as the White-bellied spider monkey, Golden-Mantled Tamarin and the Giant Otter to name a few.
Yasuni National Park Controversy
Yasuni’s diversity is in a state of threat. The park is exploited with the possibility of oil extraction, deforestation, illegal hunting and logging. Climate change is also becoming a long term problem to add to Yasuni’s stress.
President Rafael Correa’s Proposal
The President purposes the Yasuni-ITT initiative, a compensation fund equivalent to 50% of the profits the Ecuadorian government would of received had it exploited the oil reserves that Yasuni National Park has under its lush green ground. This fund makes up what the International Community, global citizens, and corporation donations put toward the fund. So far since this agreement was implemented, President Rafael Correa has protected the resource and been able to leave the crude in the ground.
