The Jatun Sacha Foundation is a private

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

ian non profit

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(nongovernmental organisation) founded in 1985. The purpose of this organisation is outlined on its website as: :"Foundation Jatun Sacha is dedicated to the conservation, investigation and management of ecologically important habitats, environmental education and community development." The name

Jatun Sacha Jatun Sacha (Kichwa: ''hatun sacha'', "big forest", Southern Quechua: ''hatun sach'a'', "big tree(s)", "great wilderness", also written with j, sounding "h") is best known as the name of a biological station established in the Ecuadorian Amazon in 1 ...

is derived from the local

Kichwa Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia (''Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. The most widely spoken dialects are Chimborazo ...

language, variably translated as "big forest" or "big jungle".

Network of biological reserves

The Jatun Sacha Foundation is an Ecuadorian non governmental non profit, private organization. It was legally established in 1989 by Ministerial Agreement No. 270 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Jatun Sacha mission is to promote the conservation of the Ecuador's biodiversity, through technical training, scientific research, environmental education programs at national and international level, sustainable management of natural resources, community development, and the training of leaders with ethnic and gender participation. A major part of this foundation'

function is the ownership and management of biological reserves which are found throughout

, which range in size from around 4 square kilometres to just over 25 square kilometres. Each reserve has an associated Biological station with infrastructure to support researchers, courses groups, students, visitors and volunteers who come to help with such tasks as

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debate ...

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discip ...

at nearby schools and research into sustainable agricultural practices. Volunteers may also assist with scientific studies of the local flora and fauna undertaken by biologists at these stations - the facilitation of scientific research being another function of the biological stations-. Of the reserves, two are located east of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, one in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

, two in high altitude

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s in the Andes mountains, two in the west of the country in more coastal ecosystems, and one station on the

Galápagos islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

. These reserves include: Amazon Reserves * Jatun Sacha Biological Reserve and Research Station Andean Reserves * Guandera Biological Reserve and Research Station Coastal Reserves * Bilsa Biological Reserve and Research Station * Congal Biomarine Reserve and Research Station Galápagos Reserve * San Cristobal Biological Reserve and Research Station

Affiliated organizations

The foundation works cooperatively with many other conservation groups such the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

(WWF), the

World Conservation Union The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) and

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The organ ...

(CI), while volunteers are found and placed independently or through volunteer organizations such as their New Zealand based partner organisation, the Global volunteer network.

References

{{reflist

External links

Website of the Jatun Sacha foundation

Website of the global volunteer network
Environmental organisations based in Ecuador