Welcome to Equafor's Ecoweb
Introducing Equafor
How it all began
One moment we were immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of the rainforest, the next we were confronted by a scene of complete devastation. Those few steps we had taken while engrossed in nature might have transported us to a completely different world. They had not, of course; scenes of such destruction are all too common throughout the Amazon basin, but the contrast, at least, served to bring home to us what we, like millions of others, had heard about but had not fully comprehended. We were seeing the death of the jungle.One tree had recently fallen. It was not exceptionally large nor unusual, but in its branches we recorded 8 species of orchid (5 of them in flower or bud), 6 bromeliads (air plants), 4 members of the heather family (ericaceae), 4 species of peperomia, and many ferns, arum lilies, and other unidentified species of epiphyte - all doomed.
After our experiences in Ecuador, we decided that there was no point in sitting around bemoaning the situation. We had to do something, however little, to help conserve the rainforest. After looking for a specific cause to support, we came to the conclusion that the projects of the large ecological organizations tended to be too large. They lacked the sense of personal involvement that we, as teachers, felt an important factor, so we decided to set up a trust with the purpose of assisting local groups in Britain help small conservation organisations in the tropics fund their projects. Thus Equafor (Friends of the Equatorial Rainforest) was born.
It is Equafor's aim to assist rainforest conservation schemes in general, but we have initially targeted a conservation group which we met while in Ecuador. Fundacion Jatun Sacha is a non-profit making organization of international scientific repute which runs a biological station and reserve on the Rio Napo in Amazonas. When we met them, they were trying to raise funds to purchase part of one of the last remaining stretches of virgin rainforest in the coastal highlands of Ecuador, which the owner was offering for logging concessions.
Two world famous American ecologists, Al Gentry and Ted Parker, assessed the 13,000 hectare Bilsa forest as part of Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Programme shortly before they were killed in an air crash. They were able to confirm the tremendous value of this particular forest as a future resource for the world. Many endangered species find their homes there and the species diversity is one of the highest ever recorded.
This was a project we felt was ideally suited for a small conservation group in Britain to support. It was not so small a project as to be ecologically insignificant, but nor was it too large for those contributing to it to feel that they had achieved something.
The people of Leeds and Yorkshire, through Equafor, were able to donate almost a fifth of the purchase cost of the core 800 hectares of the Bilsa forest remnant and, to date, has provided £17,000. As extending the core of this new reserve is of the highest priority, our next donation will be intended to purchase more of this forest, with the ultimate aim of conserving as much as possible of what remains.
Equafor has the great advantage of being based in Leeds. One of the features of our city is Tropical World at Roundhay Park, which is both a prime tourist attraction and a very effective educational facility. As a part of Leeds Botanical Gardens, it offers a taste of the rainforest, with the Marjorie Ziff house being devoted to the flora of the Amazon. Equafor hopes to continue to forge links between Jatun Sacha and Tropical World by providing information on developments in Ecuador and by giving the people of Yorkshire the opportunity to contribute directly to the conservation of a valuable rainforest.
The Yorkshire Rainforest Project has been and continues to be a success, but it is time for the idea to spread. Already the people of Leicester, through Environ, and members of Imperial College London, Project Sozaranga, have joined Equafor in adopting a project. If you wish to do the same, our resources are yours for the asking.
For a report on a visit to the Yorkshire Rainforest Reserve: Click here.
Objects of the trust
Legal NoticeEquafor was registered as a charitable trust (Registration No. 1040972) with the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales in September 1994. The objects of the trust, as defined in the trust deed, are:
- To promote for the public benefit the conservation and protection of equatorial forest ecosystems in Ecuador and elsewhere and
- the advancement of the education of the public primarily of West Yorkshire but regionally and nationally according to the trustees' decision in relation to such ecosystems and their conservation.
Patrons
David Bellamy
It is unlikely that David Bellamy will need introducing to many people in the English speaking world. For those who have been asleep for the past few decades and for those who are not from the English speaking world, he is a broadcaster, writer, scientist, and tireless worker for the cause of conservation. He is also very fond of standing waist deep in peat bogs and enthusing.Patricio Maldanado
His Excellency, Senor Patricio Maldanado, is Ecuador's ambassador to the Court of St James.Peter Brandham
Peter Brandham is a botanist at Kew's Jodrell laboratory. He is a world authority on Lilliaceae and related succulent plants.Officers and Trustees
Equafor is run by a board of trustees, currently 5 in number, who are elected by the board. They, and such ad-hoc officers as are appointed by them to carry out the trust's work, give their time on a voluntary basis and obtain no remuneration.