Ecology

By Grant Burrier Traffic through the Panama Canal is nearly half-capacity these days. Normally, 40 ships take the world’s greatest shortcut through its locks each day. Last week, the Canal Authority reduced daily passages to 25, while predicting further cuts to 18 by February. The immediate cause is Panama’s driest October since recordkeeping began in 1950....
By Sylvan Hardy As they do every year, a small group will gather Wednesday on the banks of the Rio Paute, near the town of Paute, to remember those killed 30 years ago in what has become known simply as the Josefina Disaster, a giant landslide that blocked the Rio Paute. The blockage created what...
By Matt Blitz Deep in the heart of Ecuador’s Amazon basin, in the shadows of the Andes and just below the equator, lies what may be the most biologically diverse place on the planet. Yasuní National Park in eastern Ecuador is home to millions of species of plants, birds, insects and mammals. It teems with...
By Jillian Ambrose Beer and soft drinks could soon be sipped from “all-plant” bottles under new plans to turn sustainably grown crops into plastic in partnership with major beverage makers. A biochemicals company in the Netherlands hopes to kickstart investment in a pioneering project that hopes to make plastics from plant sugars rather than fossil...
Editor’s note: Only 75 miles northeast of Cuenca, the Sangay volcano is the least accessible and least studied volcano in Ecuador. Even its name is shrouded in mystery. In 2016, University of Wyoming of Geology professor Kennith Sims led a team of scientists to Sangay earlier this year to map the mountain and to collect...
By David Nutt What is the best way to conserve biodiversity in Ecuador’s Andes Mountains? Start with the bears. Ecuador’s mountain forests are a hotspot of rich biodiversity, but many species are threatened by increased deforestation and fragmentation. Now, a Cornell research team is joining local efforts to help design a socio-ecological corridor that could...
By Alyson Penn “Tell me, what is your favorite brand of watches? Your favorite brand of chocolate? Your favorite brand of champagne?” “Now, what is your favorite brand of roses?” It is with these questions that Alejandro Henao piqued my interest when introducing me to Sisaluna, his direct-order Ecuadorian rose company, which officially launched in...
The number of Galapagos blue footed boobies is declining according to a study published in the April edition of the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology. According to the study, conducted between 2010 and 2015 by American biologist David Anderson, the number of booby chicks is declining. The reason? A lack of sardines. Previous research has...
By Susan Burke March If you are a nature lover, there’s a special way to experience the unique and distinctive flora and fauna of Cuenca and Ecuador. Cuenca-based PassifloraCourses offers educational programs  to help you fully appreciate the local nature, culture and natural health options. They are professionally led field trips and lectures, given in...
President Rafael Correa said Saturday that the latest evidence suggests that the incoming El Niño will not be as strong as the devastating 1997-1998 El Niño. Speaking during his national Sabatina, Correa said that data shows that the weather phenomenon of elevated water temperatures near the surface of the Pacific Ocean has weakened slightly in...
By Liam Higgins Gualaceo is 36 km (22 miles) from Cuenca, a bus ride that takes 45 minutes and costs less than a dollar. Known as “El Jardin del Azuay,” Gualaceo has a population of just under 50,000. Its tourist information center is next to a suspension bridge over the Rio Santa Barbara; Plaza Calvary...
Ecuador has lost 30 percent of its snowcaps in the last three decades, and if global warming continues at this rate, in 70 years they will disappear completely. In the case of the Cotopaxi volcano, however, the receding glacier could be a blessing in disguise, scientists say. These are the conclusions of the Project for...

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The Cuenca Dispatch

Week of March 24

“They are pressuring me to resign so they can remove me from office,” denounced Verónica Abad, Vice President of the Republic.

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Ecuador Navigates Economic Challenges with IMF Agreement Looming.

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“Since when does thinking differently mean being a traitor?” Pierina Correa questions in reference to the Tourism Law.

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