Environmental Policies
Map of Ecuador from Fundacion Bolivar Education
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Ecuador is located on the Equator and it is a very biodiverse place but only covers 0.2% of the Earth’s surface. Ecuador’s Constitution gives the people the right to live in an ecologically balanced environment free of contamination. In 1994 the Basic Environmental Principles states the obligations of each person in regards to the preservation of the environment. The Direction of Environment coordinates national and international relations concerning the environment and protecting it. The Law of Management is principles of environmental policies that promote waste management, sustainable alternative technologies, and respect for native cultures. The law protecting the Galapagos Islands limits agricultural practices, regulates immigration to the islands, monitors the introduction of nonnative species, and protects inhabitants and endemic species. Ecuador has been recognized by World Wildlife Fund in several rewards for their practices in protecting and conserving the environment. (Flores, 2001).
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While Ecuador continues to try and protect their unique environment, they have a poor economy and need financial assistance from foreign countries. With Ecuador being home to the wide variety and number of species its home to, it is important that it remains protected. I think that it is important to make sure that these areas are kept protected and laws are renewed. If Ecuador needs money from foreign countries, I think that developed countries should assist them in what they’re doing. It is incredible how many species make Ecuador their home: 3,300 species of orchids, greater than 1,500 species of birds, 350 species of reptiles, 450 amphibians, and greater than 20,000 species of vascular plants. The Galapagos Islands are unlike any other place in the world and are home to many endemic species and Ecuador’s protection and sustainable development for the islands has been recognized by WWF. (Flores, 2001). My hopes are that Ecuador continues to create environmental protection policies and even enhances the policies by providing more protection for the environment and that the protection of biodiversity remains one of the government’s main concerns.
The City of Quito
Quito from Solezio
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Quito is the capital of Ecuador, it is located in an Andean Valley, and it has a population of one and a half million people. The city is composed of an urban area, natural reserves, and agricultural land. Non-traditional exports and the agro-industrial exports are increasing the city’s economy. Quito has a municipal government that has a mayor appointed every four years. There are three main types of slums in Quito, they include: popular neighborhoods located at the urban edge, deteriorated tenements in the historic center, and rural neighborhoods that house low-income families. There are two types of poverty in Quito, one is absolute poverty where an individual is unable to meet their basic needs and the other is relative poverty. The slums and poverty in Quito were created from population growth and economic instability. (Carrion, 2003).
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QUITO Bus System
Before 1996 the bus system in Quito was unorganized but the changes made to the bus system have made it more organized and efficient. The Av 10 de Agosto has stations that are a closed system and only serve one trolebus at a time. No fares are collected when entering the bus because it is paid for when entering the station. The station has an access ramp so when the bus comes the station is leveled with the bus. Other vehicles can’t access the busway because there is a barrier separating the busses and general traffic. There are more busses during peak hour to serve the larger volume of people. The Ecovia bus system started in 2002, east of the trolebus system, and serves two busses at a time. The busway is located in the center of the road with one lane for each direction and there are two lanes for general traffic separated by a curb. The bus has three doors and access ramps, busses are able to cut through roundabouts. These two bus systems have improved public transportation in Quito; they serve thousands of people every hour and avoid normal traffic that the old buses would get stuck in. (Cracknell, 2003).
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Bus Station in Quito from Transalt
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The Quito bus system is unlike anything that I have ever seen or heard of before. It’s very effective and efficient for people who live in the city. Passengers are able to avoid traffic in these bus systems and get to their destination faster. This also reduces traffic in other lanes because there aren’t busses stopping everywhere. There is a major hold up on busses when every passenger has to pay the fares when entering the bus, this can delay the bus, if more stations used the same system as Quito is would allow passengers to pay while waiting and simply walk right onto the bus without causing jams at the door. If there is an accident busses aren’t affected by it because the lanes are separate. This system is very cost effective and I think it would be worth it for other cities to follow this system.
Ecuador POlitical and economic situation
Rafael Correa from Ecuador Times
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Ecuador elected Rafael Correa, its eighth president in ten years in 2007, he was a US trained economist with only four months of government experience. After he was elected he refused to renew the US lease on the air force base at Manta, it expired in 2009. He gained support to rewrite the constitution and dismiss any current elected officials. Oil is responsible for more than 50% of Ecuador’s exports but in the last ten year production by Petroecuador has fallen 50% putting the company in a financial crisis. In 2007 Correa issued a decree that increased the share of windfall oil revenues from 50 to 99% unless companies were willing to switch from production sharing agreements to new service contracts in a transition of 6 months. Correa also terminated a contract with a US
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petroleum firm and initiated new legal proceedings against another US petroleum firm. In 2008 Colombian militia bombed a terrorist organization in Ecuador and found files that proved Correa received campaign donations from the terrorist group. Colombia tried restoring ties after the bombing but Ecuador hasn’t agreed to restore ties.
The US aids Ecuador in promoting democracy, reducing poverty and protecting the environment to secure the northern border with Colombia. The US is also Ecuador’s main trading partner, receiving about 45% of all Ecuadorian exports. The US and Ecuador generally have good relations but ever since the termination of a contract with a US petroleum firm, they have not been as good as they once were. Ecuador also has opposed free trade agreements with the United States. Ecuador is a country living in poverty next to the US, if the country had a strong leader in the last ten years their economic and political state might not be as poor as it is. (Seelke, 2008).
The US aids Ecuador in promoting democracy, reducing poverty and protecting the environment to secure the northern border with Colombia. The US is also Ecuador’s main trading partner, receiving about 45% of all Ecuadorian exports. The US and Ecuador generally have good relations but ever since the termination of a contract with a US petroleum firm, they have not been as good as they once were. Ecuador also has opposed free trade agreements with the United States. Ecuador is a country living in poverty next to the US, if the country had a strong leader in the last ten years their economic and political state might not be as poor as it is. (Seelke, 2008).
Cloud Forests
Cloud forests occur in mountainous areas, there is a constant presence of clouds and mist that covers the vegetation. Cloud forests have rich biodiversity and high levels of biomass. They account for 1% of the world's forests but are the home to 10% of the world's endemic bird species. The vegetation is shorter in cloud forests because there are lower levels of light, which means there is less energy for plants causing them to be shorter. At higher elevations in these forests, tree trunks become increasingly crooked from wetter soils and high exposure to the clouds. All cloud forests have a role in stabilizing the water quality, if these forests were removed the amount of water in streams and rivers near the forest would have up to 33% less water in them. Cloud forests are home to one fourth of all epiphytes, which captures water directly from the fog and clouds. The epiphytes hold from three-thousand to fifty-thousand liters of water per hectare and are responsible for half the nutrients available. The greatest threat to cloud forests are man, we are responsible for the deforestation, infrastructure development, introducing invasive species, and increasing temperatures. Changes in temperature will cause the extinction of some cloud forests and cause others to develop in higher elevations. These changes make the biodiversity more vulnerable to extinction. (NIHERST Trinidad and Tobago, 2012).
Mindo Cloudforest: On the west side of the Andes mountains in Ecuador there is humidity rising up from wind currents, which forms the mist in the forest. The forest will have 800-2500 millimeters of rainfall every year. It is home to three-hundred and eighty bird species, some are endemic to the forest. (Hernandez-Mindo, 2015). |
Mindo Cloudforest from Mosaico
Hummingbirds in Mindo from Koultchitskii
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Works Cited:
Carrion, D., Vasconez, J. (2003). The Case of Quito, Ecuador. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper- quito.pdf
Cracknell, J. (2003). Quito Busways, Ecuador. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-quitobussystem.pdf
Flores, F. (2001). Ecuador’s Environmental Policies. Earth’s Island Journal. 16 (1). 27. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuador-environmentalpolicies2001.pdf
Hernandez-Mindo, R. (2015). Mindo Cloud Forest Information. Retrieved from http://www.mindocloudforest.com/mindo-information.html
NIHERST Trinidad and Tobago. (2012, April 6). Natural Wonders of the Caribbean 2 (2012)- Cloud Forests. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=NYEilIbX6OQ&feature=youtu.be
Seelke, C. (2008). Ecuador Political and Economic Situation and U.S. Relations. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuadorpoliticaleconomicsituation08.pdf
Carrion, D., Vasconez, J. (2003). The Case of Quito, Ecuador. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper- quito.pdf
Cracknell, J. (2003). Quito Busways, Ecuador. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-quitobussystem.pdf
Flores, F. (2001). Ecuador’s Environmental Policies. Earth’s Island Journal. 16 (1). 27. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuador-environmentalpolicies2001.pdf
Hernandez-Mindo, R. (2015). Mindo Cloud Forest Information. Retrieved from http://www.mindocloudforest.com/mindo-information.html
NIHERST Trinidad and Tobago. (2012, April 6). Natural Wonders of the Caribbean 2 (2012)- Cloud Forests. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=NYEilIbX6OQ&feature=youtu.be
Seelke, C. (2008). Ecuador Political and Economic Situation and U.S. Relations. Retrieved from http://amalavidaexperience.weebly.com/uploads/3/9/0/2/39029957/paper-ecuadorpoliticaleconomicsituation08.pdf
Picture Citations:
Ecuador Times. (2014). Rafael Correa will travel to China in January. Retrieved from http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2014/12/19/rafael-correa-will-travel-china-
january/
Fundacion Bolivar Education. (2015). Ecuador Map. Retrieved from http://www.ecuadorvolunteers.org/ecuador-volunteer-travel/ecuador-map.html
Koultchitskii, S. (n.d.). Ecuador, Mindo. Retrieved from https://500px.com/photo/3907078/male-by-sergei-koultchitskii
Mosaico. (2013). Mindo, Papallacta &Beyond. Retrieved from http://mosaicotravel.com/south-america/ecuador/mindo,-papallacta-_-beyond
Solezio, D. (2009). Quito. Retrieved from http://www.colonialhousequito.com/
Transalt. (2004). “Capitol of the World?” Not When it Comes to Buses. Retrieved from http://www.transalt.org/sites/default/files/news/magazine/042Spring/17capitol.html
Ecuador Times. (2014). Rafael Correa will travel to China in January. Retrieved from http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2014/12/19/rafael-correa-will-travel-china-
january/
Fundacion Bolivar Education. (2015). Ecuador Map. Retrieved from http://www.ecuadorvolunteers.org/ecuador-volunteer-travel/ecuador-map.html
Koultchitskii, S. (n.d.). Ecuador, Mindo. Retrieved from https://500px.com/photo/3907078/male-by-sergei-koultchitskii
Mosaico. (2013). Mindo, Papallacta &Beyond. Retrieved from http://mosaicotravel.com/south-america/ecuador/mindo,-papallacta-_-beyond
Solezio, D. (2009). Quito. Retrieved from http://www.colonialhousequito.com/
Transalt. (2004). “Capitol of the World?” Not When it Comes to Buses. Retrieved from http://www.transalt.org/sites/default/files/news/magazine/042Spring/17capitol.html