Central & South Coast - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 285

Trekking the Loma Alta Cloud Forest
In 1993, a small group of renowned scientists and local con-
servationists was surveying local forest cover when their
airplane crashed in the cloud forest above the community of
Loma Alta. Two of the world's leading tropical scientists
were killed, though a couple of people survived the crash
and made it to Loma Alta. When the biologist that survived
returned with an Earthwatch project leader, the commu-
nity knew that it was destined to support amajor undertak-
ing to try and save one of the last remaining coastal lowland
cloud forests. Since then, Earthwatch returns each year to
help promote community development, scientific research
and conservation of the cloud forest.
Earthwatch, in conjunction with the New York-based not-
for-profit organization, People Allied for Nature , met
with considerable resistance while trying to create a
bioreserve. Conservation efforts meant not clearing the for-
est, which, in the eyes of the community, meant not putting
food on the table. As a result, conservation and scientific re-
search efforts evolved into a community development pro-
gram.
As a part of the project, they researched and compared wa-
ter volume capture between untouched forest and con-
verted pasture and agricultural land. Environmental
education efforts made it clear to the community why their
watershed was drying up. The problem, though clear, had
no obvious answers. What forms of “sustainable” alterna-
tives to deforestation could they hope to employ? Local in-
come during Earthwatch projects helps a bit, but what
happens when, inevitably, these organizations pull out?
Among other efforts, People Allied for Nature and the com-
munity of Loma Alta now offer ecotours into the local cloud
forest. Although support for these trips is currently very
unstructured, any effort to visit will be amply rewarded.
The cloud forest, located four to six hours by foot and horse-
back fromthe village of El Suspiro, within the community of
Loma Alta, is a jewel for birders and nature enthusiasts. Its
remote location, rugged terrain (the last hour-long, mud-
caked scramble up to the forest shelter is called “heartbreak
hill”), and variable weather patterns make this destination
rarely visited. In fact, it is a mix of wet and dry throughout
much of the year. The forest, however, is incredible! Troops
of howler monkey shake the early dawn, nocturnal