Protection of conservation areas

The chain «road construction - clearing - agriculture - wasteland» is the primary problem. But there are also threats and risks for the already protected areas. The forests can not be left to themselves. Regular patrols by the park guards are required in combination with surveillance by camera traps.

• Plant theft In several cases, rare and valuable orchids and bromeliads were removed from the protected areas by individuals with special knowledge to resell the plants. For certain species, even small amounts of removal can be fatal.
• Illegal settlement Without supervision, sooner or later individual families would settle in the forest. The invaders cut the forest to establish ownership. Huts would be built on cleared areas and the plantations for self-sufficiency (bananas etc.) would gradually extend into the forest.
• Tree felling Individual tree species with particularly high-quality wood are cleared in a targeted manner, sawn into boards with the chainsaw directly in the forest and transported by horse. This can be done fairly inconspicuously.
• Mining The big, acute and current problem is gold mining. The state of Ecuador has issued gold mining concessions to various companies in the four northernmost provinces during the previous government's term of office. This includes the province of Carchi. Test bores of these companies are only allowed under certain conditions, which are not always followed. In addition, this has created a kind of gold rush, which has led in a neighboring valley to wild mining by armed private people. The competition created mafia-like structures, which completely subjugated the local people. This neighboring valley had to be cleared in mid-2019 by the Ecuadorian army and police.
  There is a risk that similar conditions could arise in the area of the Dracula Reserve. EcoMinga has therefore launched a local information campaign that has attracted considerable interest from authorities, NGOs, the police, the army and numerous private individuals. While a majority of the population opposes mining, a minority also sees opportunities for jobs that are scarce in the valley.