Interinstitutional Cooperation Strengthened in Coastal Ecuador

Interinstitutional Cooperation Strengthened in Coastal Ecuador

August 31, 2021; WildAid Marine Ecuador

On August 27, 2021, WildAid Marine Ecuador facilitated a workshop on Isla de La Plata for the evaluation, follow-up, and coordination of control and surveillance actions in the coastal marine protected areas in the southern part of Ecuador’s Manabí province.

The CPFG-EM Jorge Velastegui Castillo, Captain of the Port of Manta, represented the Maritime Authority, along with his work team and checkpoint heads from Puerto Cayo, Machalilla, and Puerto López.

The National Environmental Authority was present with their administrators and marine control and surveillance teams from Machalilla National Park, the Cantagallo-Machalilla Marine Reserve, and the Pacoche Marine Coastal Wildlife Refuge.

This collaborative work is part of the Coastal Marine Protected Areas Network (Red de AMCP Project), executed by the Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador (MAE) together with Conservation International Ecuador (CI-Ecuador) and WildAid Marine, with financing from the Fund for the Global Environment (GEF).

The meeting was facilitated by Manuel Bravo in his capacity as WildAid Marine’s Latin America Regional Director (WildAid is a strategic partner of the Red de AMCP Project). During the workshop, the group reviewed collaboration between naval personnel and marine protected area staff as related to marine patrols in the coastal areas of Manabí.

Additionally, the facilities where naval personnel spend the night on the Isla de La Plata were inspected to strengthen the presence of the maritime authority in the area. WildAid Marine provided support for these facilities in 2019.

This cooperation between law enforcement authorities in the coastal marine areas of the province of Manabí strengthens the conservation of marine biodiversity and will allow us to develop effective actions to protect our seas in the future.

Read the original article in Spanish.