Shrimp - Ecuador Community Tour Greenpeace is carrying out a tour of Ecuador's northern pacific coast to determine the current status of the mangrove forests in the region. These forests, for years, have been threatened by the destructive practices of the shrimp aquaculture industry. Latest 18 October 2000: 300 Activists replant mangroves on illegal shrimp farm Read the first update from the tour: Genaro Alfonso Perea Sanchez in San Lorenzo

Click on the dot on the map to read a report from the community.

Delicate transitional zones from sea to dry land, mangrove forests are the nesting grounds of countless marine species including, fish, crustaceans and many mammals like monkeys, sloth, jaguars and racoons. Traditionally, local communities depend on the mangrove forests for subsistence. Women gather shellfish, mussels, crabs and other species to feed their families and to sell in local markets. However, due to the rapid and destructive growth of the shrimp industry, the traditional fishing grounds for local communities have disappeared.

The shrimp industry destroys the mangrove forests to set up shrimp ponds. The process of cultivating shrimp in this manner adds chemicals and fertilisers to local water sources, damaging not only the forests but also the surroundings. During this tour, we will meet with the different communities who are actively fighting to save their way of life and to stop the destruction of their lands. These communities have a rich history that dates back to the times of slave trade. The peoples who currently inhabit the Ecuadorian coast are of African descent. Their forefathers were slaves who were transported on ships from Africa. Mostly, they were brought to work on the Atlantic coast of South America. The ships on which they were transported lost their way or suffered through severe weather and ended up in the region that is now Colombia and Ecuador. Our host for this event is Fundecol, an organisation celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. They have always worked in trying to save the mangrove forests from the destructive path of the shrimp industry and teaching the local communities how to help themselves.

Read more:
Shrimp - The Devastating Delicacy - An introduction
Ripped out at the Roots - The destruction of Mangrove forests.
Human Impacts - The effects of this lucrative export trade on local communities.
Don't Be 'Shellfish' - What Greenpeace is doing and what you can do.
Shrimp facts and figures
Photo Gallery