Jocotoco Conservation Foundation

Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco (Jocotoco) is an Ecuadorian non-governmental organization with a mission to protect threatened species and conserve biodiversity in Ecuador. Since its inception in 1998, Jocotoco has established and is managing a network of 15 reserves, which together add up to >32,000 hectares (>79,000 acres).

All the Jocotoco reserves have been recognized as Important Areas for Bird Conservation, and they are within hotspots of Biodiversity. Two of them are recognized as sites of the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE). Our reserves are home to more than 1,000 species of birds, of which over 51 are threatened with extinction on a global scale, and with more than 100 species being regional endemics or with a restricted geographical distribution. At least 200 species of amphibians and reptiles are protected at our Jocotoco reserves, many of which are threatened and range-restricted, and also several newly discovered to science. Large and rare mammals inhabit our reserves including Spectacled Bear, Mountain Tapir, Chocó Tapir, Puma, and Jaguar.

The mission of Fundación Jocotoco is to protect some of the world's most endangered species by conserving their remaining natural habitats in Ecuador. An emphasis is placed on species and habitats not already represented in Ecuador's system of national parks and ecological reserves.