Ecuador : Indicators

Various maps of the National System of Protected Areas are available on the Ministry of Environment (MAE) website. In addition, some MAE publications present a list of land allocations and maps of protected forests are also available. Not all the maps are geo-referenced, and not all the monthly reports are available.

The MAE also has a base line for deforestation, which has allowed the creation of maps of forest coverage in the country for the periods 1990, 2000 and 2008. Comparisons between these maps have made it possible to determine the types of conversion which have taken place, the rate of deforestation country-wide, and the identification of critical areas of deforestation in the country. It is important to point out that the base line for deforestation is still not complete, as details are still lacking for territory which does not have satellite image coverage. The MAE is working on updating the rate of deforestation (http://sociobosque.ambiente.gob.ec/?q=node/269).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries (MAGAP) has the SIGTIERRAS programme, a National System of Information on Rural Lands and Technological Infrastructure, which aims to establish a system of administration of rural land nationwide to guarantee its tenure and provide basic information for development planning and territorial planning. However, the progress made by the time of this assessment as shown on the SIGTIERRAS website covers just 9 of Ecuador’s 219 cantons (this information is available on the website; however, in meetings with public officials from this directorate it is suggested that they have survey data available for 14 cantons).

As a complement to these processes, the Proforestal programme has also generated base maps of lands suitable for forest use (these maps are available through requests for information) and location maps of their projects, including a database with information on the type of project, location, species and hectares. The Proforestal programme is now coming to an end, and the intention is for the Under-Secretariat for forest production to take over various activities developed by this project.

Finally, the land under-secretariat, through different directorates such as, for example, the title deeds directorate, also has a geo-referenced survey of the title deeds issued countrywide. This demonstrates that progress is being made in the generation of geo-referenced information; however, there is no coordination between the organisations working on this subject.