{"id":272022,"date":"2026-02-07T07:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T07:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/272022\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T07:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T07:50:08","slug":"a-familys-solitary-fight-to-save-endangered-plants-in-the-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/272022\/","title":{"rendered":"A family’s solitary fight to save endangered plants in the Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALTO ILA, Ecuador — On a recent journey into the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle<\/a>, Ram\u00f3n Pucha realized he was being trailed. Fresh puma tracks now lined the path alongside his own footprints. Unfazed, he continued his trek, focused entirely on the precious cargo he carried \u2014 seeds from some of the world\u2019s most endangered plant species.<\/p>\n

Pucha and his family have spent years recreating their own piece of jungle with rescued species on a 32-hectare farm called El Picaflor in the Indigenous Quichua community of Alto Ila, 128 kilometers (80 miles) southeast of the capital, Quito.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a passion for nature, for plants, for animals,\u201d said Pucha, 51, noting that his drive to protect the environment is so intense that many people in his community consider him \u201ccrazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

To save endangered plant species, Pucha ventures deep into the jungle, often alone, for up to five days at a time. On more than one occasion, he said he returned empty-handed because \u2014 as a consequence of climate change<\/a> and severe droughts across the region<\/a> \u2014 many of the large trees had stopped producing seeds annually.<\/p>\n

Once the seeds reach home, Pucha\u2019s wife, Marlene Chiluisa, takes charge. She plants them in suitable soil and compost so that they can begin to grow into plants that are then replanted in the rainforest. The family even shares the fruits of their labor, selling or gifting a percentage of the plants to neighbors committed to forest regeneration.<\/p>\n

Jhoel, the couple’s 21-year-old son, has stepped into his father\u2019s role as the family\u2019s successor. An expert botanist, he moves through the forest identifying plants by their common, traditional and scientific names with ease. He also serves as a guide, ferrying visitors across the turbulent Ila River in a precarious craft made of wooden planks lashed to a buoy.<\/p>\n

Yet, for all their effort, the family\u2019s struggle remains a solitary one.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody gives us any incentive\u2014not the government, not foundations, not anyone,\u201d said Chiluisa. <\/p>\n

Ecuador’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock recognizes the importance of the family’s work, calling El Picaflor a \u201cliving laboratory\u201d and a vital seed bank in an area scarred by 50 years of constant logging<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But while Ecuador was the first country to enshrine the \u201crights of nature\u201d in its constitution<\/a>, that reputation is now at risk. Environmentalists and Indigenous groups warn that President Daniel Noboa\u2019s decision to merge the Ministry of Environment with the Ministry of Energy and Mines threatens the very landscape the family is fighting to save.<\/p>\n

As he walks across the property that was once barren pastureland, Pucha pauses to observe the plants, describing the unique purpose of each one.<\/p>\n

His eyes light up as he points to a small, growing tree, which he says is now rare in the area \u2014 a type of fine wood that will reach maturity in 100 years. Though he knows he will never see it fully grown, he remains committed to his mission. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat is my legacy for my children and for humanity,\u201d he says, noting that these species are essential to the Amazon\u2019s survival, serving as medicine for humans and a food source for the animals that naturally replant the forest.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALTO ILA, Ecuador — On a recent journey into the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle, Ram\u00f3n Pucha realized he was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[153778,1763,41062,4142,390,6819,273,3717,111,139,69,5301,153539,147,255],"class_list":{"0":"post-272022","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-153778","9":"tag-article","10":"tag-botany","11":"tag-climate-and-environment","12":"tag-climate-change","13":"tag-endangered-species","14":"tag-environment","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-new-zealand","17":"tag-newzealand","18":"tag-nz","19":"tag-plants","20":"tag-rain-forests","21":"tag-science","22":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}