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Background

The Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) was founded in 1994 and is administered by the Universidad San Francisco de Quito as a biological research station and education center.  TBS itself encompasses approximately 650 hectares of tropical rainforest bordering the Tiputini River which feeds into the Napo River, the largest tributary to the Amazon.  The station is contiguous with the 1.7 million acre Parque Nacional Yasuni (recently declared a Biosphere Reserve) in the eastern Napo province, and boasts an astounding 540 species of birds (and counting), 15 species of primates and 5 species of cats.  Ongoing plant inventories in the region report an astonishing 290 species of trees per hectare, and countless largely unstudied species of ferns, herbs, shrubs, lianas and epiphytes.  The region truly classifies as rainforest, receiving over 3500 mm rain per year.

Access

Much of the beauty of TBS is a direct consequence of it’s remoteness.  Nonetheless, access is surprisingly easy.  Access can be made in one day, by a 40-minute plane ride from Quito to Coca, and travel by bus and boat the station.  Alternatively, travel to Coca from Quito can be made by bus to incorporate sightseeing, with travel to the station continuing the following day.  There is no road to the station, and all people and supplies are brought in by boat.  The station maintains communication with Quito via radio and satellite phone, and has 24-hour emergency radio communication with the nearby oil company production headquarters which houses the nearest medical facility, less than 2 hours away.  Recently installed satellite communication systems provide the station with reliable internet access, and voice-over-IP phone options.

Accommodations

Accomodations at the station are among the best I have seen for a comparable field station.  Student and researcher housing , nestled beneath huge tropical trees, offer beds and bunks with private baths, accomodating over 40 people.  The rooms are clean and spacious, each with shelves, a desk, and modern bathroom fixtures.  Electricity is supplied by a generator from 6:00 to 10:00 pm.  Rainwater is filtered, and supplies most of the station’s water needs, though river water is used supplementarily during the dry season.  Besides dormitories, a main building contains a well-equipped laboratory, lecture room and air- conditioned computer room.  Delicious meals are served in a stately thatched dining hall by the staff cook who can prepare anything from national dishes to American-style favorites.

Activities

Excellent accomodations merely add comfort to the delight and awe one feels walking the stations many well-maintained low-impact nature trails.  Wildlife is prolific and relatively unafraid.  In one day, Joe and I saw 5 species of primates while walking the trails.  Jaguar, puma, and tapir are regularly seen.  We’ve also seen harpy eagles, pink river dolphins, scarlet and blue- and-yellow macaws, capybara, hoatzin and king vultures.  Other attractions in and around the station include natural salt-licks that attract hoards of animals, and a canopy platform and walkway.

Countless activities will provide students a unique and varied learning experience at Tiputini.  Native guides are available that have an extensive knowledge of medicinal plants.  Quiet dugout canoe trips into Yasuni National Park offer opportunities to view elusive wildlife.  Climbs to the top of the canopy tower provide a unique top-down view of the forest and the unique plants and animals that live there.  Students may also visit nearby Haorani settlements, a still largely unacculturated group that continue to live as hunter-gatherers.  Oil development and ongoing colonization in Yasuni National Park and the profound consequences of complex political, socioeconomic and ecological changes offer students first-hand exposure to some of the driving forces behind rainforest destruction.  Students can take the opportunity to reflect on causes, solutions and alternatives.

Many noted scientists have visited or worked at TBS, and students may get an opportunity to watch these scientists in action, or even help them with fieldwork.  Scientists that have worked at TBS include Terry Erwin, the entomologist famous for his fogging technique of canopy sampling, Robin Foster, a botanist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and the late Ted Parker, arguably the world’s best birder.  As an active research station in a threatened biodiversity hot-spot that is attracting top scientists from around the world, and as a center committed to education, TBS is an ideal location for students to immerse themselves in a real rainforest, and witness the many facets involved in the struggle to save rainforests.

More information can be obtained from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito by visiting their Tiputini Biodiversity Station webpage, or by contacting the station administrator.