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A Galapagos tortoise looks at the left side of the camera
Giant tortoise About 300 free roaming Aldabra giant tortoises live in Curieuse Marine National Park, Curieuse Island, Seychelles. They are second largest population in the world. © Jason Houston

Ecuador

Galápagos Islands Flagship Species Conservation

Pájaro Brujo Preserve represents over 15 years of TNC’s work protecting Galápagos’ wildlife

April 01, 2021

Red bird standing on a leafless branch.
Darwin's flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus. This flagship bird from Galapagos islands is protected inside the Pájaro Brujo Preserve. © Flickr CC 2.0 by J. Maughn

In 2005, TNC acquired a property in Galapagos Islands, with the objective of preserving important remnants of cloud forest on the highlands of Santa Cruz Island, contributing at the same time flagship species from this ecosystem. Some of these are the Galapagos tortoise and Darwin’s flycatcher.

This space has been established as a demonstrative center for the restoration of these ecosystems, besides the implementation of sustainable production practices.

Work you can believe in

Side picture of the head of a Galapagos tortoise looking left.
Pájaro Brujo Preserve Adjacent to Galapagos National Park, the Pájaro Brujo Preserve accounts for over a decade of conservation efforts of the last forests on the highlands of the island. © TNC Ecuador

Pájaro Brujo Preserve

It has a total of 84 hectares and is located at the Parroquia Santa Rosa, Cantón Santa Cruz, Galapagos Province, adjacent to Galapagos National Park. TNC constituted a trust fund and designated Fundación FUNDAR Galápagos as the beneficiary, and through a bailment contract, entrusted it with the administration and management, which to date is still ongoing and successful.

A red bird standing on a branch next to a sprouting leaf.
Darwin's flycatcher on a tree The red bird rests on top of a branch inside the forests of Galapagos. © Flickr CC 2.0 by Alejandro Bayer Tamayo

Since then, TNC Ecuador’s team has monitored the implementation of the preserve’s management plan. In 2017, TNC agreed with Fundación FUNDAR Galápagos to explore a new institutional arrangement that ensures the conservation of the preserve in perpetuity. For this, TNC updated the preserve’s management plan up to 2020, and is currently looking for local partners that enable a perpetual conservation model in technical, financial and legal terms.

The starting point to restore the planet’s health

From the top of the Andes, to the depths of the Pacific, from Galapagos Islands to the Amazon, we aim to turn Ecuador into an incubator for global solutions that enable nature and people to thrive together.

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