Roads carved by logging companies drive devastating deforestation in ecuador’s chocó rainforest

Ecuador’s Chocó region, once an impenetrable rainforest sanctuary home to just a few hundred people, has become a stark example of how infrastructure development can trigger ecological collapse. This extraordinarily biodiverse region in northwestern Ecuador—one of the rainiest places on Earth—harbored thousands of endemic plant species and hundreds of unique birds and amphibians in its dense, mountainous terrain that rises sharply into the western Andes.

The transformation began in the 1980s and 1990s when timber companies like Endesa-Botrosa carved the first roads through the forest. Initially, these rough pathways took hours to traverse just a few miles through the challenging landscape. However, they opened the door to systematic logging that would devastate the region’s ancient ecosystems.

Today, the Chocó faces an environmental catastrophe of staggering proportions. Only around 3% of the region’s lower-elevation forest—below 3,000 feet—remains intact after decades of historic deforestation. While major timber companies have reduced their operations in recent years, the damage continues to accelerate. Conservation groups report that the road network left behind by logging companies has become the primary driver of ongoing forest destruction.

These once-treacherous routes have been upgraded and maintained, creating easy access for settlers from other parts of Ecuador who continue extending the road system deeper into remaining forest areas. What began as corporate logging infrastructure has evolved into a permanent network facilitating the region’s ecological destruction, demonstrating how initial development decisions can have irreversible long-term environmental consequences.