Rainforest Conservation

The Ecuadorian Amazon is on the verge of an environmental catastrophe. At 1.2 percent annually, Ecuador's deforestation rate is three times higher than any other country in South America and six times higher than the global average. The combined effect of unmanaged logging, widespread oil exploitation, unsustainable agriculture and a burgeoning population is destroying 342,500 acres of the Amazon rainforest and extinguishing hundreds of species every year.

Yachana Foundation's Protected Forest

Since 1994, the Yachana Foundation has purchased and protected over 4,300 acres of primary and secondary rainforest. In January 2002, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment declared all of Yachana's rainforest land a Protected Forest.

The Yachana Foundation is a founding member of the Planning Board for the Sumaco-Napo-Galeras National Park, a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and our protected forest lies within the buffer zone of the park.

In September 2006, a rare species of Glass Frog was discovered on the reserve by our partner in conservation, Global Vision International. GVI has volunteers working on the reserve 40 weeks per year, collecting data and helping in our community conservation program.  The organization's Rainforest Expedition participants play a key role in executing the management plan for the Yachana Reserve.

Expanding Yachana's Education Program

Due to increasing popularity of our school in Ecuador, the foundation started the Jóvenes a Jóvenes or “Youth to Youth” program in September 2007. This program allows high school, university students and others interested in sustainability and tourism to spend five days or more in the jungle with our students as their guides. Our education and sustainability methods have fascinated the visiting students and left an incredible impact on the lives of our students as well.