A stream in the forest at La Hesperia.
Fundación Tangaré / About us
A foundation for the forest and its water
Fundación Tangaré was registered in 2009 to conserve the environment and protect water sources through the commitment of everyone involved. That phrase is part of our legal name, and it still describes how we work.
Who we are
We are a nonprofit foundation based in the cloud forest of Ecuador’s western Andes. Our work combines field research, conservation on the ground and environmental education.
We work in one landscape, over many years, so that what we learn about a species or a stream can be followed up the next season and the one after.
Mission and vision
Mission
To conserve the cloud forests of Ecuador’s western Andes and protect their water sources, through research, education and the shared commitment of the people who live and work alongside them.
Vision
A western Andes where forest, wildlife and water are protected because the people around them understand them, value them and take part in caring for them.
What we work toward
- Keep cloud forest standing and connected for the species that depend on it.
- Produce field data that others can use: for science, for management and for policy.
- Train students and young researchers in real field conditions.
- Bring schools and the public into the forest, so conservation does not stop at the reserve boundary.
Fundación Tangaré and La Hesperia
La Hesperia is a family-run reserve and working farm: 700 hectares of protected cloud forest and 100 hectares of farmland, cared for since 1971. It is our main field site.
The two organizations are legally and operationally separate, and they work together under an agreement. La Hesperia protects and manages the land and hosts the people who come to work here. Fundación Tangaré carries out research, education and conservation projects together with the reserve, receives the applications to the research and volunteer programs sent through this website, and manages all donations.
| La Hesperia | Fundación Tangaré | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A family-run private reserve and working farm | A registered nonprofit foundation |
| Land | Owns, protects and manages the forest and the farm | Works on that land under an agreement |
| Main work | Forest protection, wildlife monitoring, sustainable farming, hosting visitors | Research, environmental education, conservation projects, publications |
| Programs | Provides lodging, meals and daily logistics; also offers family, remote-work and group stays | Receives applications for research, internships and volunteering made through this website (La Hesperia also receives them through its own) |
| Donations | Does not receive donations | Receives and manages all donations |
The forest we work in
A short stretch of mountain with an unusual number of species.
La Hesperia lies inside the Toachi-Chiriboga Key Biodiversity Area, in the Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot. Its forest climbs from 1,100 to 2,040 m and is home to a Critically Endangered primate, a small wild cat recognized by science only in 2024 and hundreds of bird species.
How we think about conservation
Evidence first
We monitor before we act and we keep monitoring afterwards. Decisions about the forest should rest on what the cameras, field surveys and notebooks show.
Coexistence
This landscape includes farms, roads and communities. We work so that people, wildlife and forest can live alongside each other, instead of treating them as opposites.
Water
Cloud forest captures and regulates water for everything downstream. Protecting forest is also protecting water sources.
Long term
Forests change over decades. We commit to the same place and the same questions for many years.
Global goals
Our work contributes to four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Goal 15: Life on land
Protecting cloud forest, monitoring threatened species and restoring habitat with native trees.
Goal 6: Clean water
Protecting the forest that captures and regulates water for the communities downstream.
Goal 4: Quality education
Field trips, lectures and field training for students and young researchers.
Goal 13: Climate action
Keeping forest standing and expanding it through reforestation.
Legal information
| Legal name | Fundación para la Conservación del Medio Ambiente y la Protección de las Fuentes Hídricas Mediante el Compromiso de Todos Tangaré |
|---|---|
| Tax ID (RUC) | 1792190967001 |
| Registration | Ministerial Agreement 003 of 26 January 2009, Official Register No. 539 |
| Oversight | Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador |
| Registered address | Recinto La Esperie, Principal s/n, Manuel Cornejo Astorga, Ecuador |
This work continues because people choose to support it
You can fund it with a donation, or take part in it as a researcher, intern or volunteer.