Choco-Andes Corridor Conserving biodiversity and livelihoods in two globally important...

Choco-Andes Corridor

Conserving biodiversity and livelihoods in two

globally important “hotspots” of

biodiversity, the lowland choco and the western

Andes slopes

C. Ronald Carroll, Univ. of Georgia

Rebeca Justicia, Univ. of Georgia and Fundacion

Maquipucuna

Maquipucuna lodge

Buildings constructed from local sustainable

material• Majority construction is with native bamboo

(reputation as “poor man’s wood”)

• Two international awards for eco-tourism and community development

Choco-Andes Corridor

Conserving biodiversity and livelihoods in two

globally important “hotspots” of

biodiversity, the lowland choco and the western

Andes slopes

C. Ronald Carroll, Univ. of Georgia

Rebeca Justicia, Univ. of Georgia and Fundacion

Maquipucuna

Buildings constructed from local sustainable

material• Majority construction is with native bamboo

(reputation as “poor man’s wood”)

• Two international awards for eco-tourism and community development

Young sunlit leaves are favored. Riders may ward off phorid fly parasites

Fungus mycelia with new leaves (left)

Mature Atta nest at San Luis, UGA Costa Rica site

The worst parts are the hairs !

Docile…as long as you don’t make a fist. Worst parts are the hairs.

Dendrobatid frog

Emerald tree boa

Male Saberwing Hummingbird at defense

Quetzals, toucans, and many other fruit-eating birds are major dispersers of tree seeds. Their ecosystem service maintains the forest. This Quetzal is holding a fruit of a wild relative of the avocado.

Choco-Andes Corridor

Conserving biodiversity and livelihoods in two

globally important “hotspots” of

biodiversity, the lowland choco and the western

Andes slopes

C. Ronald Carroll, Univ. of Georgia

Rebeca Justicia, Univ. of Georgia and Fundacion

Maquipucuna

Buildings constructed from local sustainable

material• Majority construction is with native bamboo

(reputation as “poor man’s wood”)

• Two international awards for eco-tourism and community development

Ancient Incan and Yumbo trails extend between mountains and lowlands. Known as coluncos, they are worn deep by centuries of use.

Class for ecotourism guides

Chonta palm Tagua palm

Carvings from tagua nuts

Shade-grown organic coffee

• 260 family coffee growers in project

• Direct marketing• Maintain highest quality beans

• Profit to grower is four times more

“Dancing goats” discovery of coffee in Ethiopia mountains

Rainforest

Shade-grown coffee

Coffee summary

• Direct marketing, brand naming and premium quality brings 4X profit to grower

(Choco-Andes Coffee under 1000 Faces brand)

• Surrogate forest overstory in bird-friendly shade-grown organic coffee shelters forest birds

• Growers’ alliance receives advice and information but not direction

Chocolate

Food of the gods

Cacao growers in our project are afro-ecuadorianos and indigenous chachis.

Cacao was the drink of the Mayan nobility and the beans were monetary currency

Aztec nobility with cacao drink. Note serpent god.

Chocolate introduced into 18th Century Europe remained a luxury drink

The alkaloids in chocolate are mildly addictive and induce the release of endorphins. Besides behaving as a pain regulator, endorphins are also thought to be connected to physiological processes including euphoric feelings, appetite modulation, and the release of sex hormones.

Hand sorting for quality important for premium quality chocolate

Small cacao flowers are pollinated by a midge whose larvae live in forest litter.

Monillia pod disease.

Black Cocoa Ant controls several major cacao pests

Indonesian cacao farmer carrying bags with palm leaves and ant colonies.

Bags will be suspended in cacao trees.

Chocolate processing

• Fat (cocoa butter) is extracted• Remaining liquid or powder is the base

• Small amounts of cocoa butter and sugar are added to reduce bitterness

• Milk added to make milk chocolate• White chocolate made from cocoa butter

Benefits of dark chocolate?

• Dark chocolate contains flavenoids, polyphenols, and releases nitric oxide in blood

• Relaxes blood vessels and reduces blood pressure

• No benefit from white chocolate• Am J Clin Nutr 2005 vol 81

Major producers and consumers of chocolate

Note that the world price of cacao beans has declined steadily since a peak in the mid-1970s. Generally cost of living has increased steadily over this period.

Bamboo used for…

• Low-cost renewable housing• Source of farmer income• Reduce pasture erosion• Increase biodiversity• Reduce deforestation• Sale of carbon credits

Maquipucuna lodge

Constructed mainly with palm and bamboo

Large amounts of carbon are stored in bamboo roots. Our bamboo has a clumping habit and this has important ecological consequences.

Carbon stock storage• Bamboo soil 60.8-123 Mg/ha• Pasture soil 33.4-75.3 Mg/ha• Bamboo biomass 51.8-95.6 Mg/ha• Pasture biomass 3.53-8.14 Mg/ha• Lower C/N under bamboo• Lower bulk density under bamboo• Deeper C storage under bamboo??

Mg=1000kg of carbon

Carbon sequestration: the newest initiative

• RICOH corporation in Japan purchased one million dollars in carbon credits

• In return we reforest 640 hectares of degraded pasture with native trees that will sequester carbon (above and below ground)

• 150 hectares are designed (we hope) as tropical equivalent of Temperate Zone FACE forests

Degraded pasture conversion

Guadua or forest?

• ChoCO2 CDM project over 20 years• 523 ha of degraded pasture• 165,997 tCO2 reforestation with CDM guidelines

• 1,263,000 tCO2 from harvested Guadua

• 7.6X more CO2 stored with Guadua

Pasture conversion con’t

• Each 100 ha of Guadua after 5 years generates approximately $106,000 USD annual gross revenue from harvest sales plus carbon credits and…

• Reduces demand on timber from forest lands.

• Rate of deforestation in bamboo project area is now approximately 0%

Site suitability for Guadua in the Choco-AndesCorridor. Red has highest suitability.

Environmental education is fundamentally

important to long-term sustainability

Coffee, chocolate, birds, and people “migrate” between the forested environments of Ecuador and Georgia. Therefore, we think of this connection as “Our Shared Forest”.

Our Shared Forest

• The forests of Ecuador and the US are linked by several processes1. Bird migration2. Coffee and Chocolate trade3. Exchange of students and faculty4. Exchange of environmental education

programs