Tapichalaca

This reserve is high in the Andes at the extreme limit of the Amazon watershed. It was set up to create protected habitat for the Jocotoco Antpitta. It also shelters another ten threatened bird species and an astonishing one hundred and fifty threatened species of plants, including thirty orchids. A recent survey found nine threatened frog species. It is also a stronghold for Spectacled Bear and Mountain Tapir. This list will undoubtedly lengthen with more biological survey – it is a superlative area.

The endangered Jocotoco Antpitta. Flagship species of the Tapichalaca reserve. © Nigel Simpson

The Bustamante property. Purchased under the Carbon Sequestration programme. With the Chris Parsons Reserve in the background.

At present there is one carbon sequestration site consisting of a 41 ha parcel in the sub-tropical montane forest at the lower edge of the reserve. Some 85% of the area is forested but is right on the edge of active clearance for pasture. This parcel has now been incorporated into the reserve and so protected, while the remaining 15% is pasture where the forest will regenerate naturally. These actions – a combination of ‘Kyoto compliant’ and ‘Kyoto non-compliant’ approaches - mitigate emissions by some 5,000 tonnes CO2.

Reserve Map

Tapichalaca reserve map. View larger version of reserve map