Protection

Despite the high level of threat in the Tropical Andes, a network of protected areas today conserves some of the most important remaining intact ecosystems in the hotspot. Protected areas cover some 16 percent of the original extent of vegetation in the region, although only about eight percent of the hotspot is protected in reserves or parks.

Other conservation efforts in the region include projects to mitigate the direct effects of large-scale habitat destruction and resource extraction, programs for the conservation and rehabilitation of specific species such as the Andean condor and the yellow-eared parrot, public awareness and participation, and the development of already degraded areas for agricultural production, rather than clearing standing forests.