From the source to the forest

OneAction is working with Corporación Toisán to protect the Intag Valley in Ecuador, one of the ten most biodiverse areas in the world. This is achieved through 5 main activities: production and sale of renewable energy, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, environmental education and legal support to communities.

Location

Topics

De la source a la foret 2023 SDG - OneAction

Beneficiaries

Direct
4,000 participants in the various project activities

Indirects
16,000 inhabitants of the Intag conservation area

Impact

2 GW h of renewable hydroelectric energy produced per year

150 hectares of land reforested in 3 years

68 community-based organisations strengthened

250+ teenagers trained in environmental clubs

Context

Since 2013, OneAction has been supporting the reforestation efforts of the NGO CASA Interamericana in northern Ecuador, in one of the 10 most biodiverse regions in the world, which is currently threatened by intensive agriculture and mining activities. As a result of the sustained decline in oil prices, on which it depended for its growth, Ecuador has been facing a severe economic crisis for several years and is experiencing high unemployment. As a result, the government has increased mining concessions in the country, posing an unprecedented threat to the country’s biodiversity, particularly in the Western Andes forest, which OneAction seeks to preserve through conservation efforts.

Our partner

De la source a la foret 2023 Beneficiaires 1 - OneAction

In parallel to reforestation, OneAction and CASA Interamericana have also worked on other conservation efforts and, after ten years of successful collaboration, have decided to scale up the various activities undertaken in collaboration with the local NGO Corporación Toisán. Created in 2005, this organisation aims to promote a sustainable territorial development model that respects local identity, to strengthen the capacity and participation of societies, to promote local initiatives, and to act as the voice of civil society in the Intag Valley in Ecuador.

As an umbrella and federating organisation, Corporación Toisán thus serves to provide a space for debate and decision-making, to generate political impact, to conduct independent territorial development processes and to promote the local economy.

The project

With the aim of preserving the biodiversity hotspot that is the Western Andean Forest, the project aims to strengthen and develop 4 lines of action already underway:

the promotion of sustainable agricultural techniques in the CASA Interamericana permaculture centre;
the multiplication of environmental education activities through the creation of ecological clubs for young people and teenagers in each of the watersheds of the Intag valley;
Supporting communities through a community legal defence fund to enable its members to assert their constitutional rights in the face of numerous transgressions in mining activities;
and the restoration of the various ecosystems of the Western Andean forest through reforestation activities, planting 20,000 trees per year on an area of 150 hectares.

In order to provide a robust foundation for conservation efforts, a fifth development axis has been integrated into the project and consists of the creation of a community hydroelectric plant (300kW) to produce and sell green energy to the national grid. Operating as a cooperative in which community members can invest, the plant generates approximately 2 GW h of renewable hydropower per year, avoiding 565 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

The project in figures

4000+

Participants in the activities

2GW h

Renewable hydroelectric power per year

+150

Hectares of land reforested in 3 years

250+

Young people trained in environmental clubs

20%

Return on investment for the cooperative

Strengthened community-based organisations

Expected outcomes

Community groups, local leaders and forest rangers are given tools to manage their land and water resources sustainably.
A community hydroelectric plant (300 kW) is installed to produce green energy and sell it to the national grid.
Eco clubs provide a space for local youth to raise awareness about nature conservation.
Young entrepreneurs are trained and supported to create renewable energy initiatives.
Monitoring systems are used to collect and analyse data on soil and water quality in the region.
Legal support is offered to families to assert their constitutional rights to their land.
Training in agroforestry enables farmers to carry out environmentally friendly activities and improve their productivity.
4 nurseries are developed to produce 5,000 plants each year, and more than 150 hectares are reforested over 3 years.

Sustainability

One plant will be able to generate 2 GW h of renewable hydroelectric energy per year, avoiding 565 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
The project limits unsustainable activities in the area and thus protects biodiversity, forest and community livelihoods.
The hydropower plant is designed to be financially self-sustainable (with an expected return on investment of 20%) and replicable in other river basins.
The establishment of a revolving fund allows for the financing of new sustainable land management projects in the long term.
Technical data collection systems can be used in the long term by communities for the sustainable management and protection of their land.
Agroforestry and sustainable agriculture activities contribute to soil restoration, water conservation, improved food security and protection of local flora and fauna in the long term.

"The Intag Valley is home to some of the last remnants of the Western Andean forest and its extraordinary biodiversity. Its inhabitants tirelessly design democratic processes focused on the promotion and defence of human and nature rights, environmental conservation and the development of innovative initiatives that contribute, locally, to the global challenge of the climate emergency."

— Denis Laporta, Founder of Corporación Toisán

Equipe de terrain De la source a la foret Denis Laporta uai - OneAction

Our projects

Together with its partners, OneAction develops initiatives to protect nature and empower communities. These initiatives are designed to be holistic, sustainable and locally owned. In most cases, self-financing mechanisms are included in order to create models that can be replicated in different contexts.