SOLEQ Travel: Committed to Sustainable Tourism and Environmental Conservation - Impact Report Jocotoco Foundation
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SOLEQ Travel is proud to share an update on the progress made in 2023 for one of the sustainability projects we have been collaborating on since 2018. The project involves the “Reserva Buenaventura,” a 575-hectare area that we are committed to preserving.
Our support for this project is made possible by our adherence to sustainability principles. Specifically, we financially support the “Fundación Jocotoco” by contributing US$0.35 per day for each confirmed passenger traveling with us. We track these contributions throughout the year and make a lump sum donation at the end of the year.
At the end of 2023, the Jocotoco Foundation released its impact report. On page 17, it describes the achievements reached and mentions the flagship bird of the Buenaventura Reserve, the “Orces Parakeet,” which is endangered. Additionally, the report provides information about the various bird species found, including toucans, trogons, motmots, eagles, falcons, and manakins, as well as several species of hummingbirds that have been photographed. Among the mammals, sightings include ocelots, monkeys, and even the two-toed sloth. These findings demonstrate the results of the care provided to the reserve and the surrounding areas located in the Piñas canton, belonging to the El Oro province.
In each of our trips, we provide our passengers with a “Welcome Package” that includes several documents, such as: the voucher and confirmation of their trip, details of the services included, a certificate signed by the authorities of the Proyecto Refugio de los Sueños Foundation, and a document certifying the financial contribution to the Jocotoco Foundation, including the name of the Buenaventura Reserve that we are supporting. You can see the mentioned document below:
Additionally, for your information, the Jocotoco Foundation and SOLEQ Travel, as a tour operator, are open to receiving any amount you kindly wish to donate. Below, we present part of the 2023 report prepared by the Jocotoco Foundation.
If you would like to see the Orces Parakeet in its natural habitat, you can watch a video about the Buenaventura Reserve that has been posted on Facebook. Click on the following link:
Extract from the results report of the Jocotoco Foundation:
REGIONAL CONSERVATION
A decade ago, we realized that we needed to think beyond the boundaries of our reserves. Bears and jaguars spent a significant part of their lives in the valleys and mountains outside of them. Our scientific research revealed that even species protected within our reserves depended on other populations from neighboring areas to maintain high genetic diversity. Daily, weekly, and annual migration cycles implied that we needed to create ecological corridors across extensive landscapes. The communities around our reserves informed us that rapid deforestation was also affecting them, that their waters were drying up, and that their soils were being lost. These communities also expressed their desire to be part of the solution and to lead the way.
BUENAVENTURA RESERVE - Chumbes
In 2023, we expanded the Buenaventura Reserve by over 575 hectares (1,400 acres). It is important to note that this expansion extended the reserve up the mountain. The reserve now covers an altitudinal gradient from 400 meters (1,300 feet) to 2,250 meters (7,300 feet) above sea level. Why is this important? The climate is changing. As temperatures rise, forest-dependent species are moving further up the slope, including the threatened Orces Parakeet. If we do nothing, these species will run out of habitat.
However, protecting the highlands in Buenaventura is not enough. We must also plant the forests of tomorrow. Most of the higher-altitude lands within the reserve had been deforested to convert them into pastures. In the coming years, we will continue reforesting these lands with tens of thousands of native trees. We are now restoring the forests that will serve as climate refuges for numerous threatened species in the decades to come. We are preventing the extinction of many rare plants and animals that continue to struggle for survival in Buenaventura.
SAVING THE ORCES PARAKEET
Few people have ever seen the Orces Parakeet. Its range is dangerously small. Its historic habitat, the forests of the mountains in the Ecuadorian province of El Oro (a province known for gold mining) and its surroundings, has been largely deforested. In our Buenaventura Reserve, the Orces Parakeet clings to existence and is making a comeback. This is due not only to our efforts in protecting and restoring its habitat but also to our work in placing nest boxes to emulate the tree cavities that once were abundant in the ancient forests that have been lost in the region.
Measures to combat the effects of climate change and deforestation
Jocotoco Partners: Organizations and Companies
At SOLEQ Travel, we are very happy and proud to be part of this wonderful project to save an endemic species of Ecuador. We are delighted that visitors not only discover Latin America, and specifically Ecuador, but also marvel at how much we can contribute to the planet and take an active role in combating climate change.
Finally, I encourage everyone to take care of nature. Green spaces are increasingly threatened, and we cannot remain passive. Now is the time to act; the planet will thank us.
We thank the Jocotoco Foundation for the information taken from:
- Jocotoco Impact Report 2023.
- Reforestation, Buenaventura Reserve, Document courtesy of the Jocotoco Foundation.
- (Orces Parakeets, Leovigildo Cabrera), Buenaventura Reserve, Document courtesy of the Jocotoco Foundation.
- If you would like to read the full Jocotoco Impact Report in Spanish, click here:
If you would like to get to know one or more of the Jocotoco Foundation’s reserves, we will be happy to include a visit in your next tour to Ecuador.
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