Ecuador

Ecuador borders the Pacific Ocean in western South America. Its diverse landscapes include Amazon jungle, Andean highlands, and the Galapagos Islands. Most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rangeland. Ecuador has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; and water pollution.