Illegal logging and forest fires are the main causes of Ecuador losing around two million hectares of natural forest during the last 30 years.
The raft and eucalyptus are the trees most vulnerable to environmental crimes, because the wood from their trunks is used by illegal loggers.
Illegal logging is punished with a custodial sentence of between one to three years; agricultural or domestic burns that cannot be controlled are punishable by three to six months in prison; the sentence can be aggravated up to three years, if the person started a fire in forests or moors.
Illegal logging
The Ministry of the Environment declared that the 14 checkpoints nationwide are not enough to end illegal logging. The most affected provinces are: Sucumbíos, Orellana, Napo, Pastaza, Morona Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe, Esmeraldas and Manabí.
The executive director of the Ecuadorian Wood Industry Association, Christian Riofrío, commented that the companies that carry out this activity legally remedy the exploited areas: “We intervene a hectare and it is not touched any more in a few years; we have 180 thousand hectares ”.
On the other hand, Riofrío pointed out that the 61 officials of the Ministry of Environment are insufficient to control deforestation in the country.
Forest fires
According to data from the ECU-911 integrated emergency system, 1,406 forest fires occurred in Ecuador, since 2012 the country suffered the loss of 196,429 hectares of forests, moors and natural vegetation due to this crime.
The most affected areas are Guayaquil and Quito, with 502 and 206 fires, respectively. Glenda Ortega, Undersecretary of Natural Heritage, explained that in addition to putting the country’s green areas at risk; people are in danger, biodiversity is affected and it is a public expense for the country’s accounts.
“Fires are one of the main causes of the destruction of forests, which favors the spread of pathogens. The protection of these places is the most effective and sustainable vaccine ”.
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