By: Marisol Angulo, Ecuadorian Analog Forestry (REFA)
Marisol Angulo, the driving force behind the San Jorge Analog Forest, is a woman who defends her territory and is part of the Ecuadorian Analog Forestry Network (REFA), a partner organization of the International Analog Forestry Network (IAFN). We are a global movement dedicated to learning from forests and prioritizing biodiversity.
Santo Domingo is a city strategically located between the Ecuadorian mountains and the coast. Because of that, it has experienced an exponential economic and structural growth in recent decades. This growth has been marked by a strong real estate pressure, a development model focused on infrastructure, and a concerning regression in local environmental policies.
For years, the city’s lack of planning has led to the destruction of ecosystem remnants, such as forests and water bodies, that have been key to maintaining the quality of life for its inhabitants. According to the latest census, by 2022 the city had 373,321 inhabitants, compared to a population of 305,130 in 2010. These figures demonstrate a city experiencing significant population growth: more than 20% in just 12 years! And a city that grows without planning can only end in ecological disaster.
Until 2020, the city did not have an urban tree ordinance. The municipality was free to cut down trees or invade natural areas without any mechanisms for citizen consultation or oversight. As a result, concerns began to arise among various citizen groups about the city’s environmental situation, especially regarding the few remaining trees amid the expanding concrete jungle. The Ecuadorian Analog Forestry Network (REFA), the Environmental Front, and the Provincial Environmental Roundtable organized to advance institutional change.
Figure 1 and 2. REFA documenting and preventing further deforestation of the Jelen Tenka forest.
Figure 3. Defending the Jelen Tenka Forest. REFA member Marisol Angulo denounced the danger of losing this forest in the media (2021).
It was an arduous process of drafting, reviewing, and modifying the ordinance, under the scrutiny of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition (the country’s highest environmental authority). However, after a year and a half, the Municipal Council approved an ordinance regulating urban trees in the city’s seven urban parishes. Thus, in June 2021, the municipality of Santo Domingo issued Municipal Ordinance No. 018-WEA (available online). Among other things, the current regulations require that for every tree cut down or damaged, ten native trees at least one meter tall be planted. Now, its implementation is the responsibility of the municipal gardening department, but citizen oversight remains essential.
Map 1. Three areas of intervention with analog forestry in the city of Santo Domingo
With this legal tool in hand, the next step was to protect already forested urban properties that were at risk of urbanization. Specifically, three key areas totaling 26 hectares were identified and successfully protected under the ACUS (Sustainable Use Conservation Areas). This designation completely restricts land use changes, prioritizing the preservation of the ecosystem within. The three areas involved are located in the city center. The first is Bombolí Alto, with six hectares granted to the Curia as a loan. The second area belongs to the Nueve de Diciembre housing cooperative, with ten hectares in a good state of natural conservation. The last area is Jelen Tenka Park, a 40-hectare municipal project, of which 10 hectares have been declared ACUS. Below are maps showing the location of these three areas, detailing each one.
Map 2. Expansion of Zone A. In red, the Jelen Tenka ACUS. In blue, the water protection buffer zone at Jelen Tenka. In orange, the ACUS in the 9 de Diciembre Cooperative.
Map 3. Expansion of zone B. In yellow, the ACUS Bombolí.
In these areas, organized communities, forestry technicians, and citizen groups—such as REFA—have implemented ecological restoration processes based on analog forestry (AF). This methodology, unlike simple reforestation, focuses on rebuilding functional ecosystems, using native species and replicating the structure and dynamics of the original forest. While the ordinance does not mandate a specific methodology, it does explicitly require ecosystem restoration processes, prioritizing the planting of native species with dual and even triple purposes: ornamental, medicinal, and/or food. Similarly, the need to create landscape connectivity corridors is made explicit. Therefore, analog forestry has been the best implementation option, with strong technical support through REFA.
The application of analog forestry has allowed for a measurable and sustained increase in urban biodiversity. In the case of the Jelen Tenka Park, for example, there are three hectares that are not part of the ACUS but function as a water protection buffer zone. In there, more than 800 native trees have been planted. The Bombolí Alto area and Jelen Tenka Park have been restored with native species such as: Fernán Sánchez, Laurel, Guayacán Boqueño, Guayacán Pechiche, Guayacán Rosea, Ceibos, Carnation, and many more. In total, including some exotic species with key ecosystem services, up to 50 species have been planted. Two years after the start of the process, a notable recovery of the vegetation canopy, the return of bird and insect species, and a visible improvement in soil quality have been observed in both areas. In other words, not only have trees been planted: a viable habitat has been restored.
Compared to other municipal reforestation practices—which typically use ornamental or exotic species—analog forestry has proven to be an ally for citizen-led ecological conservation processes. Through community-based mingas (collective work) and seed exchanges, the social fabric surrounding these urban forested areas has been strengthened. Efforts have been made to incorporate species native to the tropical rainforest, which play key roles in water regulation, carbon sequestration, and pollinator attraction. This concrete experience demonstrates that active restoration generates technical evidence and citizen legitimacy to defend these territories. Furthermore, systematic documentation of the process has been key to requesting the declaration of these areas as Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas (ACUS), a legal status that prevents land-use changes. In this sense, planting a native tree is also a legal and political strategy.
However, challenges remain. The lack of coherence between wooded areas regulations and land use policies has been one of the greatest challenges. Despite the existence of the ordinance, urban plans continue to approve projects that threaten restored green areas. Such is the case of Jelen Tenka Park. The aforementioned water protection buffer zone—which is not part of the ACUS but must be protected due to its ecosystem importance—has been threatened by the mechanical infrastructure of the park’s attractions. Faced with this danger, a citizen complaint was filed for environmental damage, an official inspection was requested, and remediation was demanded. As a result, the planting of 30 trees was ordered, replacing the three that had been damaged. And surveillance must continue, as there are plans to build a wave pool right in that area. This has shown that, even with regulations in place, the risk of destruction is quiescent, and therefore civil society engagent is key.
The case of these forested areas in Santo Domingo shows us that the benefits of analog forestry are not limited to the ecological level. In neighborhoods where urban restoration and conservation processes have been implemented, communities report immediate improvements in their quality of life. Reduction in heat stress thanks to natural shade, the recovery of spaces for walking, playing, and socializing, improved air quality, and a greater sense of security are some of the benefits mentioned by residents. In a city marked by extreme heat, noise, pollution, and insecurity, these restored spaces function as physical and emotional refuges. They are places where the connection with nature is reactivated, the community fabric is strengthened, and a collective and healthy use of public space is promoted.
Added to this is the fact that many of the communities involved in the restoration also use traditional medicinal plants, integrating healing practices native to their territory. However, municipal legislation does not consider this cultural dimension, and in some cases, restrictions on the use of public spaces have affected the continuity of these practices. It is urgent that regulations recognize the spiritual, medicinal, and cultural value of restored urban ecosystems. A restoration process is currently underway in the Chigüilpe commune, part of the Tsáchila nationality: to date, two demonstration sites have been established, which will be key to encouraging the expansion of the forest recovery process. At the same time, gradual efforts are being made to promote the recovery of the intangible value of nature in the commune, so that it can later be required as a municipal mandate.
Santo Domingo’s experience shows that analog forestry can be a powerful tool for urban transformation. It not only allows for the recovery of biodiversity and improved community health, but also strengthens citizen participation, generates legal arguments, and reshapes the relationship between people and their land. Today, the struggle continues. REFA, together with the Environmental Front, is actively demanding a municipal policy that officially recognizes restored areas as untouchable green spaces. This entails updating the urban registry, preventing the sale of land with ecological value, and allocating public resources for its stewardship and expansion. There is also a need for a specific ordinance that includes analog forestry in territorial planning instruments and prioritizes the use of native species in all urban forest restoration: this is merely a dream, providing continuity to an relentless process of struggle.
In times of climate crisis, restoration is no longer an aesthetic option: it is an urgent necessity and an act of resistance. Resisting the urban model that devastates green spaces, resisting institutional neglect, resisting the dispossession of public space. Every tree planted, every community organized, every property protected, is a collective affirmation that another city is possible. Realizing the political utility of methodologies like analog forestry is not only relevant but fundamental. It is one of the many ways in which we can strengthen the power of citizens to advocate for better local policies and decisions in their territories.
