Protecting a Garúa Forest in Ecuador: The Role of Institutions and Ecosystem Valuation

摘要

Inventing or sustaining cultural systems andinstitutions that provide people with an adequatestandard of living while preserving forest ecosystemsand their biological diversity is a great challengefacing humanity now and in the coming century. This paperdescribes an effort to use participatory research andenvironmental education to affect forest preservationby a community in southwestern Ecuador. Thesustainability of lowland agriculture in this area ispartially dependent on fog-capture by the hill forests.Once the community of Loma Alta understood and valuedfogcapture, they used their own system of governance anddecision making to preserve the forest. The case studyis presented in a theoretical framework of generalinterest to social and natural scientists concerned withtropical forest preservation. It has particularrelevance for integrated conservation and development efforts.