Last Friday, February 11, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (Maate) declared the Curiquingue-Gallocantana Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Protected Area as part of the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP).
The area It extends along 1,223.63 hectares in the middle zone of the Tomebamba river sub-basin and covers the upper part of the Culebrillas river micro-basin and the Matadero Alto river in the Sayausí parish, in Cuenca, Azuay province..
This protected area, which becomes number 67 in the country, will conserve moors, wetlands, grasslands and endemic species of flora, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. In addition, it constitutes a biological corridor between the Cajas National Park and the Machángara – Tomebamba Protected Forest, thus maintaining the connectivity of fragile ecosystems for the survival of many Andean species such as the condor, spectacled bear, Cajas hummingbird, among others.
With the incorporation of Curiquingue Gallocanta to the SNAP, Cuenca becomes the first municipality to have two Decentralized Autonomous Protected Areas: Mazán and Curiquingue-Gallocantana.
“We are a small country but big in biodiversity. Today we are committed to conserving the important level of endemism of existing species in Curiquingue Gallocantana: 21.65% of flora; 13.51% mammals; 6.6% birds and 76.92% amphibians and reptiles, unique in the world”, said Gustavo Manrique, Minister of the Environment.
For his part, Pedro Palacios, mayor of Cuenca, mentioned that the incorporation of the Mazán and Gallocantana areas is part of joint planning with Maate, and now they hope that the Machángara area will also soon be included in the SNAP to ensure maximum protection. . (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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