Past Projects
Jatun Sacha, Ecuador
Background
Jatun Sacha Foundation encompasses three different land areas with a variety of programs carried out within them. These include the original Jatun Sacha Station is a center for field research and education, Guandera, which has a plant conservation center and extends the environmental education program, and Bilsa, utilized for large replantings of mahogany for future sustainable use.
Jatun Sacha features a tall bird-watching tower
"Jatun Sacha", which means "big forest" in Quichua, is located on the south side of the upper Rio Napo, 8 km east of Puerto Misahualli, Napo Province, at 450 m elevation (01 04"S; 77 36"W). The annual precipitation is ahout 3900 mm and is rather evenly distributed throughout the year, though the period December-February tends to be relatively dry and April-June tends to be very rainy. The life zone is Tropical Wet Forest in the Holdridge system. Jatun Sacha lies just 20 km east of the base of the Andes, and the environment is transitional between the lower slopes of the Andes and the Amazon lowland. The terrain is mostly steeply dissected hills crossed by small streams. The soil is mostly red clay Oxisol (Dystropept). Soil analyses were carried out in 1992.
Founded in 1986, the main station was, the original reserve being 200 hectares to well over 2000 today (5000 acres). 70% is covered in primary forest and the remainder is secondary growth. The forest reserve and facilities of Jatun Sacha are available for use by scientists carrying out research projects in the rainforest, university and school groups conducting field courses, and environmental tour groups.
In July 1989, the government of Ecuador approved the establishment of the Fundacion Jatun Sacha, a private, non-profit Ecuadorian foundation that owns and manages the field stations and promotes biological conservation, research and eduction in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Since then, the foundation has acquired additional land parcels and set-up research stations on them.
Jatun Sacha's neighbors are colonists and small farmers, and much of the surrounding area near the Rio Napo and the road has been cleared for agriculture. The rear portion of the fields station, however, is still surrounded by primary forest. Hunting pressure in the area is quite high, and populations of the larger mammals have been severely depleted. For other organisms within the Jatun Sacha reserve, the natural comniunity is relatively intact and undisturbed.
Objectives
The foundation aims to provide a site for ecological studies of all kinds, as well as a place for educational programs related to tropical rainforest biology. Jatun Sacha hopes to at attract high-caliber field biologists to begin a long-term studies in population and community ecology at the site.
Jatun Sacha emphasizes participation by Ecuadorian scientists and students, and seeks to promote tropical forest preservation in eastern Ecuador as well as support rural development programs in the region designed to help residents engage in sustainable use of forest resources, providing economically viable alternatives to deforestation.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Jatun Sacha Foundation offers volunteer opportunities for Ecuadorian and international volunteers at the three Biological Research Stations it owns and manages in Ecuador's tropical forests. Volunteers help with agroforestry, reforestation, environmental education, health, nutrition, construction and basic research projects. The three work sites include: The 3150 hectare Bilsa Biological Station located in western Ecuador, the 1000 hectare Guandera Biological Station protecting highland Andean forest, and the 2000 hectare Jatun Sacha Biological Station in Amazonian Ecuador. For more information visit their web site: www.jatunsacha.org.