A small group of Ecuadorians, united under the name of Itapoa, are buying up remaining land in the Choco Rainforest of Ecuador. Only 5% of its original size, very little of which is protected, the Choco once covered the northern lowlands from the base of the Andes to the Pacific. Logged and cut for banana production, the area is now being transformed into a sea African Oil Palm Plantations. Remnants of this little-known forest persist in the few roadless areas at the base of the Andes, which continue to be difficult to access.
