How wildlife returned to an Ecuadorian moorland

“When I first came here, I was sad to see all these irrigation ditches. They were used to drain the water so sheep and cows could survive. It was a shame not to see deer or condors,” recalls Manuel Simba.

As he guides us along a trail in the Antisana Water Reserve, he tells how the landscape in this area has changed in the last decade. “It is a source of pride now to be able to see deer, Andean condors, black-faced ibises, condors and even wolves roaming the land,” he says.

Simba is 58 years old, has grey hair, and a deep look under bushy eyebrows. Since 2015, his work has been to protect the moors, specifically the Antisana, between the province of Pichincha and Napo, 100 kilometres from Quito, Ecuador’s capital city. He says his love for nature arose in his childhood.

“My late father [farmer] liked to conserve his land, he didn’t like to erode it. I learned from his teachings.”

Now, as he speaks of how this moor is recovering, he smiles and his eyes go flat, he puffs out his chest under his blue raincoat, and says they even saw bears and pumas through camera traps.

Not so long ago, says Simba, encountering...

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