RANCHO TANGARÉ RESERVE IN A BRIEF

Rancho Tangaré Private Reserve (the Ranch) is a forest conservation and sustainable nature-based tourism demonstration site of the not-for-profit Rios Andinos and its partner organizations.

Since June 2018,  the ranch has been officially registered as a private reserve at the Ministry of Environment of  Ecuador (MAE-CGJ-2018-0456-O).

The Ranch is located in the Northwest of the Province of Pichincha, County of San Miguel de Los Bancos, Ecuador, at an altitude of approximately 800 meters above sea level. The area has a humid, sub-tropical climate, with temperatures ranging from 16 to 22 degrees Celsius and average humidity of 95%. The nearby town of San Miguel has a rainy microclimate; fog formation is frequent because of its location in the foothills of the western Andes Mountains. The region includes subtropical humid and tropical moist forest ecosystems.

The Ranch is connected to the Sub-Tropical Andes Hotspot. The Ranch contains extraordinary biodiversity and levels of endemism, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and over 300 bird species. Thus, it is an ideal place for bird watching. Besides, the Ranch offers many research opportunities, high-standard nature hiking, and horseback riding tours. The region has numerous rivers, such as the Cristal, Nambillo, Mindo, Blanco, and Mulaute rivers. The Blanco and Mulaute Rivers offer unique customized opportunities for white water rafting trips with Rios Andinos' partner Andean Rivers Expeditions in the Ranch vicinity.

The Ranch has 100 hectares (approximately 247 Acres), including 75 ha of humid subtropical forest and 25 ha of silvopasture systems and humid subtropical forest. The Los Bancos to Valle Hermoso road limits the northern part of the property, and the southern part faces the Blanco River canyon (peñón). The Ranch is undergoing a forest enrichment and reforestation program using native high conservation value forest (HCVF) species.

The County territory contains valuable natural resources such as the Protected Forest of Mindo-Nambillo, which has a total area of ​​19,200 ha, and the new protected area established by the Municipality of San Miguel de Los Bancos: Peñón del Río Blanco Protected Forest. This newly protected forest encompasses 3,700 ha, including forest restoration and rehabilitation areas. The Ranch is proudly part of this new protected forest. 

The Ranch is near the Mindo area, a hot spot for domestic and foreign bird watchers. Mindo is Ecuador's fourth most visited destination, only 90 km from Quito. A large County area is still used for pastures since the main activity is livestock, which occupies approximately 22,600 hectares. Livestock farms are typically 50 hectares each. Local farmers also produce coffee, cocoa, sugarcane, bananas, and naranjilla.

Rancho Tangaré was established in 1970 when spouses Heriberto Neptalí Flores and Piedad Cárdenas acquired three lots of land from original pioneer settlers. The original settlers received lots of land from The National Institute of Agrarian Reform in the mid-60s. These three lots formed a single body of land. Subsequently, the Flores-Cardenas spouses acquired two additional lots in the early 1980s, consolidating Rancho Tangaré.

The property was originally named "Rancho Tangaré" because of the abundance of Tangaré trees (Carapa megistocarpa). In the early '70s, using Tangaré wood, the Flores-Cardenas sposes contracted the construction of the first wooden weekend home on the banks of the Guadalupe Creek. The property's original name remained until 1984 when it changed to "El Padrino" (The Godfather). The substantial financial effort of the Flores-Cárdenas family and additional support from the National Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Fomento) helped to establish the Ranch. In 2004, when the Flores-Cardenas spouses passed away, the property was inherited by their three children. Marlon re-established Rancho Tangaré in his proportional part in January 2017.

Because of the advanced land degradation on the property, Marlon and his family began to restore the original habitat of the property. Restoration includes reforestation with native species and eliminating livestock that characterized the property from 1970 to 2004. Further, in 2018, Marlon registered and converted the new Rancho Tangaré into a private reserve. The Ranch is now a member of the National Corporation of Forests and Private Reserves of Ecuador, registered at the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador (MAATE for its Spanish acronym). The same year, the Ranch became a member of the Chamber of Tourism of the Choco-Andino region. 

The nature-positive and climate-smart tourism activities offered on the Ranch contribute to covering the cost of conservation and restoration. Four kilometers of user and eco-friendly hiking and horseback riding trails are under construction within the Ranch's humid subtropical forest and silvopasture areas. 

In November of 2018, Marlon, a technical advisor to the UNDP, was instrumental in the negotiations with the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador that led to the first GEF (Global Environmental Facility) project to support the Chocó-Andino Biosphere Reserve (CABR). Later, in July 2019, UNESCO approved the new CABR, which includes an important part of the county's territory—the Ranch located in the BRCA's buffer zone. The Ranch offers sustainable, nature-positive, and climate-smart tourism activities. The Ranch's business model supports community development and strongly focuses on empowering young local women. 

More recently, in February 2023, the Municipality of San Miguel de Los Bancos, in collaboration with the MAATE, established the "Peñón del Río Blanco Protected Forest" mentioned above. Rios Andinos' experts are supporting the development of the new protected forest's management and business plan.