We wanted to update you on a few land-buy and protection campaigns from the past year or two. Because there is some BIG news to share:
We just helped buy the most species-rich place on Earth: the Pitalala Reserve, Ecuador
Last year we ran two campaigns for the Pitalala Reserve in Ecuador, a mind-blowing place in the Amazon that scientists argue has more species per square kilometer than anywhere else on the planet. In late December, we were rushing to meet a deadline to help buy the land and protect it forever…
And we did it! We’ll let Alejandro Arteaga, the CEO of our partner Khamai Foundation, let you in on the details:
We got it!! Still shaking with excitement, and I can barely type. Thank you so much.
Not only that but we lost no time at all and purchased the land in record time with your support.
We are moved by the amount of passion and support coming from the network of Ekō supporters, which feels like a family. This strength-in-numbers approach gave us much-needed renewed hope in the project and it allowed us to provide the down payment on the land (halting its ongoing destruction) and, a few days ago, is what made it possible for us to complete the purchase, incorporating the land into the Pitalala Reserve. It is astonishing the amount of life we have saved! Not only centuries-old Amazonian trees, but thousands of animal species, including a large jaguar that was recorded by our park ranger a few weeks ago. It is time for a collective celebration in honour of the Amazon and the vibrant living community we have just saved. A victory over the miners has been won.
May all the living spirits in the Amazon bless you all with good fortune.
Here’s a photo of Alejandro signing one of the purchase agreements:
In fact, there was some extra good news. Eko members were so generous at the end of the year that Khamai was not only able to protect the originally selected land: they also bought an adjoining plot that extends protection even further.
You can see more details in this video on Khamai’s YouTube.
They’ve already put up a sign, and there’s Ekō, right there, thanks to all your support:
You can see more photos from the reserve here on Khamai's Instagram.
We’re very excited to see what happens with this reserve in the months and years to come.
But friend, that’s not all. We have updates on 6 more land protection projects our community has contributed to: read on for the latest!
Creating a new haven for pangolins in Guinea
A mining company was set to destroy one of the last places where pangolins – the most trafficked mammals on Earth – can be safe in the wild.
So Eko members donated to help create a massive national park in pangolin-rich Guinea, where mining and poaching would be BANNED. And we’re juuust about to get it.
According to our partners at Rainforest Trust, this project is on track and more than 95% of the way to achieving protected status. The national park should be formally declared early this year!
The new national park that we helped create will connect to the adjacent Outamba and Kilimi National Parks to the south in Sierra Leone, creating a vast, transnational wildlife corridor for wide-roaming species like elephants.
To celebrate, here’s a video of a group of forest elephants roaming the area, captured on a camera trap (the video is a couple of years old but shows you the magic of this place!).
Protecting the world’s largest wetland in Brazil
Brazil’s Pantanal is an environmental wonderland home to fascinating species like giant otters, giant armadillos, and the densest population of jaguars on the planet.
But climate change and tourism are putting the world’s largest wetland in serious peril. So Eko members went to work to help buy and protect over 300,000 acres to prevent exploitation and protect animals and local communities from devastating fires.
The project isn’t yet complete, but it’s progressing well, with about 20% of the land officially purchased and more in progress. Conservation management activities are ongoing, including field patrols and infrastructure improvements for the purchased properties.
The world’s largest wetland is much safer than before!
2.2 million acres of intact Amazon rainforest, to be protected forever
In 2024, we ran a campaign to save 2.2 million acres of one of the oldest and largest remaining stretches of intact Amazon rainforest, in Guyana.
Here’s the latest, from Rainforest Trust: The project is progressing well at approximately 15% of the way toward formal protected area creation of the Wapichan Headwater Conserved Area. The majority of the project staff and consultants have been hired, the project has been socialized with the local Indigenous community council, and a protected area creation Working Group has been established.
A home for the cotton-top tamarins of Colombia
We’ve updated you on this before, but with help from Ekō members, our partners successfully purchased over 1,000 acres of land, significantly expanding the forest reserve Los Titíes de San Juan in northern Colombia. It’s a game-changer for the charismatic cotton-top tamarins that will give the 7000 remaining tamarins left in the wild a chance to recover and thrive.
This expansion nearly doubled the size of the reserve, which now protects more than 2000 acres for cotton-top tamarins, native wildlife, and the well-being of local communities.
Protecting a mountain wilderness with half of Argentina’s biodiversity
Loggers and ranchers were sharpening their chainsaws and plotting to bulldoze the Yungas forest. Their plan? Turn this breathtaking wilderness into pastureland, erasing decades of ecological complexity in the blink of an eye.
Well, we’ve stopped them.
With the help of the Eko community, 11,990 acres of highly intact forest in Argentina’s Southern Andean Yungas region are now officially protected, connecting two existing parks to complete a 229,538 acre conservation area home to nearly half of the country’s biodiversity.
Want to see a camera trap photo of a jaguar in the new protected area we helped create?
A lifeline for the world’s last bonobos
You donated to this campaign!
Deep in the Congo rainforest is an irreplaceable stretch of wilderness where bonobos coexist in harmony with the Bakela people, who for generations have honoured and protected these gentle apes.
This precious place is a lifeline for the world’s last bonobos and countless other species teetering on the brink.
But under serious threat of vanishing altogether, the Eko community has rallied more than once. Our partners at the Bonobo Conservation Institute have this to say:
Thanks to support from the Ekō community, our efforts to protect the irreplaceable forests of Lilungu are gaining real momentum. Your partnership has been instrumental in helping us move from vision to action — ensuring that this extraordinary forest, home to endangered bonobos and countless other species, is one step closer to lasting protection.
Our donations have helped connect the Lilunguforest to an international research initiative for bonobos – and launched a brand new 15-month mission in the field in October – and it’s already drawing attention as a hotspot for conservation and community-driven science.
Our partners are also soon kicking off community consultations that are the next critical step to having the area recognised as an officially protected forest. There will be more to come, and more opportunities to help!
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We’ve done so much work as a community to help protect nature, including taking part in these inspiring land buy projects. It’s really not every day you get the chance to contribute to setting aside a piece of nature for permanent protection…but we’re glad we get the opportunity to do it a few times a year!
We’ll be in touch with more updates on our land-buy campaigns from Bolivia to Madagascar to Indonesia and more when we hear from partners. Until then…thank you!
