Ecuador has approximately 10 million hectares of diverse forest types covering approximately 55% of the country. Recent data from Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment estimates that the deforestation rate is 61,764 hectares per year. In order to reverse forest loss, Ecuador is implementing a series of initiatives to reduce deforestation in the country as part of good governance of forest resources and to simultaneously contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing GHG emissions related to this activity.
The UN-REDD Programme welcomed Ecuador as a partner country in October 2009, and approved a US$4 million funding allocation to Ecuador’s National Programme in March 2011.