by Rosa Jordan

Protecting the Playa de Oro Reserva de Tigrillos has been no easy matter. On the northwest side, logging companies had cut right to the line, and were hungrily eyeing Playa de Oro's virgin

forest. On the southwest side, Chachi Indians had cleared their own land for farming and were making occasional incursions into Playa de Oro to cut trees for house construction. On the northeast side, scores of squatters had actually moved onto Playa de Oro land. Not least of the problems was the fact that the Playa de Orans themselves were beginning to doubt that they could protect their forest, and more and more were muttering about how they might as well sell before all the trees were stolen.

I got an another scare when I was in Quito on this trip, when I learned that the squatters actually had titles in hand—false ones which had been issued to them by corrupt bureaucrats in the federal ministry of land titles (the very same ministry which drew up Playa de Oro's title in 1995! Playa de Oro's 10,406.86 hectares (25,715 acres) had been surveyed and the boundaries were well-marked, so I didn't see how there could be any doubt as to what the boundaries of the reserve were, but...what to do? I paid a visit to Conservation International in Quito, and asked the director there, whom I knew from before, what his advice was, and he suggested that I "find an NGO willing to pay Playa de Oro's legal costs to take it to court." Not what I wanted to hear!

Meanwhile, just two months ago the Feline Conservation Federation, which was aware of threats from logging companies, had donated enough money to pay members of the community to patrol their borders on a regular basis. This was something I had suggested, thinking that it might stop, or at least slow, the pace of squatter settlement and timber theft. I went to Playa de Oro not knowing whether this had been implemented. Here's what I discovered when I arrived:

Once funds for the border patrol were delivered to Mauro (in September), the community rallied in active defense of their land. Mauro had been given the responsibility of organizing the patrols, and his decision was that before the patrol started, the community should organize mingas (volunteer work parties) to cut a trail around the entire, 30-km perimeter of their territory. Once a trail was cut, so there would be a little visibility and trekking through the jungle would not be so dangerous, four men would be employed to walk the boundary. When they returned, another team of four would go out. The teams would continue to rotate like that, so jobs would be spread out, and none of the men would be gone all that long from home.

Still Protected!

By the time I got there, at least of the third of the boundary trail had been cut (see map on next page) But two even more exciting thing had occurred. I learned that the community had met four times with the several dozen squatter families who had settled in their territory, showed them their title, and had persuaded them--all of them!--to leave. Playa de Orans had also informed the two logging companies working on their northwest border that their trees were not for sale, and what’s more, they planned to put a patrol along that border to prevent tree theft. Soon thereafter, the companies finished logging adjacent lands, and packed up and left!

Playa de Oro Reserva de Tigrillos – 10,406.87 hectares (25,715 acres)

The companies apparently made offers to other communities, and some sold out, so there was no reason to pressure Playa de Oro. However, when those other areas have been clearcut, the logging companies probably will return. Playa de Orans insist that they will never sell their trees. They do have a 500-year history of "just saying no" so it’s fair to assume that protection of their ancestral forest is a strongly-held cultural value, and with a little outside help, they’ll continue to reject offers.

There was never a question as to whether the Playa de Orans wanted to protect their forest. The question was how they could afford to do it when they were being threatened on three sides, and did not have the resources to employ border patrolmen to spot trespassers, report back to the community, and prevent tree theft. The arrival of funds solved that problem, at least for now. I personally think that just knowing that money was available to pay a patrol was what inspired the community to organize mingas to create the trails which would make patrols practical. It is not possible for men to work continuously on the trail-cutting, so the work is going slowly, but Mauro thinks they will have a trail cut around the entire perimeter by the end of the year, and the patrols can commence in January. The funds donated by the Feline Conservation Federation and its members should cover the patrol's $5-per-day salaries for the first six months of 2006. After that, well, we'll see.

For now I can only say – what a good way to start the new year!

Rescued Ocelot, Returning to the Wild

Reserve Staff on River Patrol

back to Playa Del Oro Jungle Cat Preservation