The Ministry of Environment and Energy announced on April 10 the official launch of the first grant call from the Biocorredor Amazónico Fund, marking a new step in using innovative financial tools for conservation in Ecuador.
This announcement signals the start of the execution phase for the Biocorredor Amazónico Program. The initiative aims to convert debt-for-nature agreements into direct investment for biodiversity protection and sustainable development in Ecuador’s Amazon region.
According to officials, this and future calls are expected to improve management of 4.6 million hectares of protected areas, protect an additional 1.8 million hectares of forests and wetlands, safeguard 18,000 kilometers of rivers, and restore 40,000 hectares within the Amazon. During the event, Minister of Environment and Energy Inés Manzano said: “Today we take a decisive step: we move from commitments to action. This call allows conservation to cease being an aspiration and become a public policy with financing, clear goals, and measurable results in the Amazon territory.”
The Biocorredor Amazónico Fund is responsible for channeling resources from debt-for-nature swaps—a financial operation completed in December 2024 that allowed Ecuador to refinance about USD 1.53 billion in debt, generate more than USD 800 million in fiscal savings, and secure USD 460 million for Amazon conservation over the next seventeen years.
Applications will be accepted until May 26, 2026. Funding will support projects focused on conservation efforts, ecosystem restoration, sustainable forest management, bioeconomy initiatives, and capacity building among Amazonian communities. Eligible applicants include organizations from both public and private sectors—civil society groups, academic institutions, businesses as well as local governments—whose proposals are developed within the scope of the Biocorredor Amazónico.
Further information about eligibility criteria can be found at www.fondobiocorredoramazonico.org. The program covers all of Ecuador’s Amazon basin as an integrated management model combining conservation with sustainable development efforts.
