Ecuador : Indicators

Sub-paragraph m of article 7 of the LOTAIP specifies that public institutions must present “Mechanisms for accountability to citizens, such as management targets and reports and performance indicators”, and article 12 stipulates that these institutions must deliver an annual report on fulfilment of this law.

The Ministry of Environment (MAE) publishes an annual report of activities on its website. The 2011 report presents a section on Forest Governance. In addition, through the Forest Administration and Monitoring System (SAF) it publishes annual forest reports.

In its annual report of activities, the MAE presents a detailed section on forest issues. The most recent report includes information gathered corresponding to 50% of the surface area of Ecuador to draw up a map of plant coverage and land use. It states that 1,566 agreements have been signed as part of the Socio Bosque programme, bringing a total of 881,933 hectares of forests under conservation and benefiting approximately 90,255 people (forming 23,505 families). It also reported that there is coordination with the Internal Revenue Service for a monitoring process of the final destinations of timber Spatial analyses are carried out on the processes of forest use to compare them with geographical and documentary information, the principal benefit of which will be to quantify the changes in tree coverage. By this measure, 10,000 hectares of forest have been reforested for protection and conservation purposes. More than 4,000 cubic metres of illegal wood have been intercepted by fixed forestry monitoring stations and mobile units; and 730 plans and programmes for forest use have been verified countrywide. Without doubt, this is progress in the work carried out by the forest authority.