Ecu-MAES / Sustainable Landscape Development / Geo Institute Uni Halle / MLU

Project: Ecu-MAES completed · 01. October 2019 until 31. December 2021

Ecuador has a high biodiversity and many endemic species. However, over the past 30 years, Ecuador has experienced significant deforestation and habitat loss, resulting in a continuous decline in biodiversity and ecosystem services. Currently, there are only sporadic empirical studies on biodiversity conservation, which provide only isolated insights into the ongoing losses of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Ecuador.

The project objective was to map and assess the capacities of ecosystems to provide regulating, provisioning, and cultural ecosystem services under changing climate and land-use conditions. The study was intended to initiate more in-depth research and cooperation with Ecuadorian research institutes.

The cooperation partner was the Universidad Regional Amazónica (IKIAM). The project was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Project-Website: ECU-MAES

Profile ECU-MAES

Project Title

ECU-MAES
(Original TitleA National Ecosystem Services Assessment and Mapping for the status and future development of ecosystem services and biodiversity – a fast track study in Ecuador.)

Project-Website

ECU-MAES

Project-Duration

01. October 2019 until 31. December 2021 (completed)

Project-Lead

Prof. Dr. Christine Fürst, Dr. Janina Kleemann

Project-Orientation

Assessment of ecosystem services, scenario development

Research Area

Ecuador

Contact

Dr. Janina Kleemann

Funding-Agencies

DAAD/GIZ

Partners

Ikiam

Koo, H., Kleemann, J., Cuenca, P., Noh, J.K., Fürst, C. (2024) Implications of landscape changes for ecosystem services and biodiversity: A national assessment in Ecuador. Ecosystem Services, 69, p.101652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2024.101652

Kleemann, J., Zamora, C., Villacis-Chiluisa, A.B., Cuenca, P., Koo, H., Noh, J.K., Fürst, C., Thiel., M. (2022) Deforestation in Continental Ecuador with a Focus on Protected Areas. Land 11(2), 268. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020268

Kleemann, J., Koo, H., Hensen, I., Mendieta-Leiva, G., Kahnt, B., Kurze, C., Inclan, D.J., Cuenca, P., Noh, J.K., Hoffmann, M.H., Factos, A., Lehnert, M., Lozano, P., Fürst (2022) Priorities of action and research for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services in Ecuador. Biological Conservation 265, 109404.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109404

Noh, J.K., Echeverria, C., Gaona, G., Kleemann, J., Koo, H., Fürst, C., Cuenca, P. (2022) Forest Ecosystem Fragmentation in Ecuador: Challenges for Sustainable Land Use in the Tropical Andean. Land 11, 287. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020287

Noh, J.K., Echeverria, C., Kleemann, J., Koo, H., Fürst, C., Cuenca, P. (2020) Warning about conservation status of forest ecosystems in tropical Andes: National assessment based on IUCN criteria. PLoS ONE, 15(8), e0237877. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237877