Reserva Tesoro Escondido

– About us-

The Tesoro Escondido Reserve protects over 2000 hectares of primary forest in the Chocó lowlands, a global biodiversity hotspot. This area in the province Esmeraldas is highly threatened by anthropogenic activities such as timber extraction, monocrops and mining concessions.

Mission

To conserve the Ecuadorian lowland Chocó rainforest, one of the most threatened ecosystems on a global scale, through participatory scientific research, environmental education, and sustainable projects built together with local communities, placing women and local leadership at the centre of its work.

Vision

We aspire to a lowland Chocó where the conservation of forests and wildlife rests on the coexistence between communities and nature, and where women and local leadership play a leading role in building a just, equitable, and resilient territory, capable of caring for its natural heritage over the long term.

Governance

The Tesoro Escondido Reserve Foundation is governed by two bodies. The General Assembly, made up of its members, is the highest authority and makes its decisions by simple majority: it approves the annual plan and budget, amendments to the statutes, and the admission of new members, and it oversees the management of resources. The Board, elected by the Assembly for a five-year term, leads and carries out the organization’s work and is composed of the Executive Director, the Projects Director, the Treasurer, and two Members-at-Large. The Executive Director holds the Foundation’s legal representation and leads its day-to-day management, with shared signing authority alongside the Projects Director and the Treasurer to ensure the responsible handling of funds.

The reserve protects one of the last healthy populations of Ecuadorian brown-headed spider monkeys as well as other endangered species such as the Great Green Macaw, the Banded-Ground Cuckoo, the Harpy Eagle, the magnificent jaguar, pumas and an incredible diversity of herpetofauna.

The reserve collaborates with farmer families who offer their houses to host visitors, offering a unique experience in rural Ecuador.

The Tesoro Escondido reserve works on:

Scientific research together with national and international universities, scientists, students and our parabiologist team
Permanent environmental education programme in 10 communities
Community projects such as agroecological gardens and reforestation
Support to projects such as ecotourism and small chocolate businesses in local communities

Documentaries

Al Jazeera English and Black Leaf films present the documentary “Ecuador’s Hidden Treasure” part of the series Women in Science where the work of our director Citlalli Morelos and the reserve’s team is shown.