Ecuador : Indicators

According to Art. 29 of Book VI on Environmental Quality, Title I of the Unified Text of Secondary Environmental Legislation (TULAS), the register of files and environmental licences granted by the environmental authorities is public and any person may, at his/her own expense, access the information contained in any of the technical studies which were used as a basis for the issuing of the environmental licence.

Art. 100 of Book III on the Forest System, Title VIII of TULAS states that the use of non-timber forest products must have a licence based on an operating plan. However, there is no online register of these plans.

The Ministry of Environment (MAE) recognises that the decision-making to establish good forest governance depends on the generation of appropriate, timely and reliable information. To this end it has developed the Forest Administration and Monitoring System (SAF), through which the MAE monitors plans and operating licences, and automatically grants timber transportation guides. Work is currently taking place to implement SAF2, which includes in one of its components a National Forest Information System. This system will generate a national database of stakeholders connected with forest activity, and will generate online reports of forestry activities, including administrative processes, forest management, and monitoring and commercialisation of timber and forest products in the country, including imports and exports.

These systems must also include information and coordinate activities with other government agencies responsible for the management of forests, such as SENAGUA and MAGAP.