High in the misty peaks and jagged ridges of Ecuador’s towering Andes, a remarkable environmental comeback story has quietly unfolded over the past quarter-century. A groundbreaking conservation effort, stretching across 25 years, is now yielding visible results — cleaner water, flourishing wildlife, and the revival of a critical, unique ecosystem known as the páramo.
Launched in 2000, a collaborative initiative between Quito’s municipal water utility and an international environmental nonprofit set out to reverse decades of ecological degradation.
Today, their work is restoring vast areas of land once lost to overgrazing and neglect. As the landscape heals, both local residents and environmental experts alike are witnessing the extraordinary resurgence of life.
A Landscape Once on the Brink
The páramo is an extraordinary alpine ecosystem found exclusively in the high altitudes of the northern Andes. Sitting above 10,000 feet, it is a biodiversity hotspot characterized by a dense carpet of mosses, lichen, high-altitude palms, and a host of endemic grasses.
More than just a habitat for rare flora and fauna, the páramo plays a crucial role in regional hydrology. It acts like a natural sponge, absorbing moisture from the air and soil, and slowly releasing it as clean water into rivers and streams that sustain both people and wildlife downstream.
Yet by the late 20th century, much of this delicate ecosystem was in peril. Years of overgrazing, deforestation, and expanding agriculture had left large tracts barren, threatening water supplies for cities like Quito and diminishing native wildlife populations.
“Before the water fund, the páramo in Antisana was very degraded. The only thing you would see was sheep,” recalled Silvia Benitez, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Freshwater for Latin America, in a statement. “The change has been amazing. Vegetation is back. The wetlands are restored.”
She added, “Now people see groups of deer. They see puma. I saw a fox. I had never before seen a fox in this area.”
Building a Water Fund for the Future
Recognizing the urgent need to protect this natural water source, the Nature Conservancy joined forces with Quito’s water utility, EPMAPS. Together, they launched a pioneering financial mechanism to fund conservation work — the Fund for the Protection of Water, better known as FONAG.
With just $21,000 in seed money, the initiative began charging downstream water users to support protective measures in the páramo regions supplying their water. This innovative model has since grown exponentially.
Over the past 25 years, FONAG has amassed $2.5 million in annual contributions, ensuring a steady flow of resources for ongoing restoration and preservation projects.
The results have been transformative. Large areas of former ranchland are now being reclaimed by native vegetation, and animals long absent from the region have returned. Whitetail deer, Andean bears, mountain tapirs, and majestic condors are once again part of the landscape.
More Than Just Water Conservation
While safeguarding water sources was the primary mission, the program’s benefits have extended well beyond.
“Since FONAG’s beginning, its priority has always been the protection of the water sources. But when you conserve water sources, it’s almost automatic that you have other co-benefits—biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and social benefits,” explained Bert de Bievre, Technical Secretary of FONAG.
The páramo’s ability to capture carbon is particularly impressive. According to the Nature Conservancy, in Colombia — where páramos cover just 2% of the land — they provide 70% of municipal water and sequester carbon at rates six times higher than tropical rainforests.
A Community-Driven Conservation Model
Crucially, the project has actively involved local communities. Dozens of residents have become páramo rangers, helping to monitor and maintain the landscape. Ranchers have relocated their livestock to lower elevations, while farmers have partnered with EPMAPS to adopt less invasive agricultural practices that protect fragile watersheds. A nursery operated by the Nature Conservancy now cultivates native páramo plants for reforestation efforts.
This collaboration between environmentalists, government agencies, and local residents is proving to be a model for the rest of the region. The Quito-FONAG approach is being replicated in northwestern South America, demonstrating the power of nature-based solutions in addressing environmental challenges.
“Each year, the global water sector spends $700 billion on building and repairing pipes and reservoirs, using grey solutions to engineer themselves out of a problem created by deforestation, agriculture or other threats upstream,” said Brooke Atwell, Associate Director of the Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Watersheds strategy.
“If we were able to reallocate just 1% of that spending ($7 billion) toward protecting nature, it would eclipse all global philanthropic spending on conservation today.”
Looking Ahead
FONAG’s work is far from over. To date, the organization has protected 55,000 hectares of páramo, but its long-term vision is even more ambitious. Over the coming decades, it aims to expand conservation efforts to a total of 150,000 hectares, ensuring the continued flow of clean water, the resilience of native wildlife, and the preservation of this irreplaceable ecosystem for generations to come.
In an era where nature-based solutions are gaining attention worldwide, the success of Ecuador’s páramo restoration stands as a hopeful testament to what can be achieved through collaboration, ingenuity, and respect for the natural world.
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