Ecuador is located in the northwestern region of South America. It is bordered by Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ecuador is also home to the Galapagos Islands.
Facts:
- The capital is Quito.
- Spanish is the official language.
- It’s population is approx. 14.5 million.
- 95% of the population is Roman Catholic.
- Approximately 1.4 million people visit Ecuador each year.
Current News:
Ecuador owes China more than 7 billion dollars, more than a tenth of it’s GPD. China began loaning Ecuador money in 2009 in exchange for oil. As a result of the mounting debt that it can not afford to pay back Ecuador plans to auction off more than 3 million hectares of pristine Amazon Rainforest with China oil companies being first inline to buy it.
This news absolutely crushes the environment loving biologist within me. We are already losing a huge number of species a year. And while I know we haven’t lost any big important ones yet that make the world sit up and take notice it is still a big deal to the ecology and diversity of the world. Species are all interdependent and while it is true that we are still discovering new species there does become a breaking point where one more straw will break the camel’s back.
The Amazon Rainforest used to cover 14% of the earth but now only covers 6% and it is estimated that we will lose that in less than 40 years. Nearly half of the worlds species of plants, animals, and microorganisms are found in the rainforests. More than 20% of the world’s oxygen comes from the Amazon Rainforest and more than 1/5 of the world’s freshwater is found in the Amazon Basin.
Sorry for the soapbox I just climbed upon but obviously this is something close to my heart that I am passionate about and it kills me to see it destroyed and sold for short term profit.
This month me and my team are/were praying for Ecuador in preparation for our journey there. If you would like to pray with us please check out my Praying for Ecuador blog.
