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Article: Ecuador's Environmental Policies.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
- March 22, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ecuador lies on the northwest shores of South America, facing the Pacific Ocean. Located across the imaginary line that divides the globe into north and south, Ecuador is known as "the country in the middle of the world."
Ecuador's four distinct natural regions -- the Sierra, the Coast, the Amazon Basin and the Galapagos Islands -- contain some of the world's greatest bio-diversity. Ecuador is home to about 3,300 species of orchids, more then 1,500 species of birds, 350 species of reptiles, 450 species of amphibians, and more than 20,000 vascular plants. Ecuador's tropical rainforest is considered one of the richest and most complex plant and animal communities ...