Who we are
Botanical Park Los Yapas is an independent, non-profit organization founded in 2007. The project was created by a group of agronomists, biologists and a computer engineer interested in nature conservation. The park is located in an ecologically compromised region 7 km from El Puyo city. Settlement by farmers and loggers began about 60 years ago, after a decision by the national government of the time to colonize the rain forest.
Historically, after logging in this zone, settlers set up homesteads, slashing and burning the surrounding forest in order to farm and raise cattle. This has destroyed large extensions of the environment of the region, leaving primary rain forest only in inaccessible areas. The Botanical Park Los Yapas when purchased was 25 hectares of land which had previously been left as pasture for cattle and is now an example of natural recovery. Puyo river (which eventually leads into the Amazon River) crosses the Park and is one of its most valuable attractions.