APOYO A LAS ACTIVIDADES DEL PROYECTO ICAA II EN EL CANTÓN SUCUMBÍOS Y ANÁLISIS DE POSIBILIDADES EN CASCALES Y GONZALO PIZARRO

The project aims to support the activities of ICAA II in the cantons of Sucumbíos, Cascales, and Gonzalo Pizarro. The project's objectives are to support the inclusion and implementation of environmental variables in the development and territorial ordering plans of the cantons of Cascales, Gonzalo Pizarro, and Sucumbíos. Additionally, the project aims to analyze the feasibility of implementing connectivity corridors between the municipal governments of Cascales, Gonzalo Pizarro, and Sucumbíos. A report on the prefactibility of an ecological corridor was conducted to support the project's objectives. The report analyzed the scope and official recognition of connectivity corridors as a conservation and development strategy. The Ministry of Environment (MAE) defines a corridor as an area that allows for the functional connection of ecosystems and habitats, promoting the migration, dispersion, and genetic flow of wild species. The MAE identifies three elements for the management of corridors: (1) natural areas that integrate the four subsystems recognized within the SNAP and serve as the "source" of species dispersal, migration, or exchange; (2) habitat remnants that are distributed regularly or irregularly in the landscape and can connect the core areas through a "continuous strip" or passage refuges; and (3) various landscape uses that make it possible to maintain biological connectivity processes. The MAE has defined guidelines for intervention considering the concepts and approach of corridors. The guidelines are a conceptual-methodological guide directed at institutions working with this approach. The guidelines define the normative, strategic, and operational aspects for their implementation. A map of priority corridors for connectivity has been defined at the national level, where the north-central region of the country is identified as a priority area, from the Cofán Bermejo Ecological Reserve to the El Ángel Ecological Reserve. The MAE recognizes this strategy and will promote the management for connectivity with conservation purposes that complements and strengthens the processes of planning, ordering, and territorial management carried out by the Autonomous Decentralized Governments within the framework of the assigned competences. The design of corridors should primarily attend to ecological and socio-economic criteria, framed in the principles of the ecosystem approach and watershed management. The spatial scale, size, and shape of a corridor should be supported by technical design studies that demonstrate its viability. The design of the corridor should be a participatory, inclusive, and negotiated process with local actors that legitimize its existence socially, politically, legally, and institutionally. The Regional 1 of the Ministry of Environment has defined a spatial proposal of Biocorridors with a higher level of detail for the provinces that cover the Zone of Planning 1: Sucumbíos, Carchi, Imbabura, and Esmeraldas. According to this proposal, four management zones are identified: (i) core area, (ii) buffer zone, (iii) connectivity axis, and (iv) landscape matrix. The core area constitutes mainly the sites where representative samples of biodiversity are conserved and are the sources of species dispersal, migration, or exchange. The buffer zone is the area surrounding the core area that helps to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem. The connectivity axis is the area that connects the core areas through a continuous strip or passage refuges. The landscape matrix is the area that makes it possible to maintain biological connectivity processes. The proposal identifies four zones of management: i) Área núcleo, ii) Área de amortiguamiento, iii) Eje de conectividad, and iv) Matriz de paisaje. The Área núcleo constitutes mainly the sites where representative samples of biodiversity are conserved and are the sources of species dispersal, migration, or exchange. The Área de amortiguamiento is the area surrounding the Área núcleo that helps to maintain the integrity of the ecosystem. The Eje de conectividad is the area that connects the Área núcleo through a continuous strip or passage refuges. The Matriz de paisaje is the area that makes it possible to maintain biological connectivity processes. The project's methodology includes the