While the success of the Paddington movies is set to reach new heights this November, with the release of the franchise’s third instalment – Paddington in Peru – University of Sussex researchers are conducting vital work in the Andes mountains, to help protect the ‘real-life Paddington’, the Andean bear.  

Researchers at the University of Sussex are helping to protect the bear’s habitats and find solutions to the human and wildlife conflict in the Andes. 

Local farmers in Ecuador are clearing large stretches of forest for farming, impacting the Andean Bear Corridor – a 250-mile stretch down the spine of the Andes Mountain range, across the Ecuador and Peru border. This large-scale deforestation has greatly reduced the bear’s natural habitat causing more frequent contact with humans. This has led to increasing conflict with local communities, with many farmers claiming that the bears are eating their crops and livestock.  

As part of a Sussex Sustainability Research Project which began in December 2023, researchers from the University of Sussex are working with local communities to help combat this issue and ensure humans and wildlife can co-exist. This includes, developing a greater understanding of the behaviours of the Andean bear as well as the views of local people on forest conservation, while exploring possible legal protection of the bears through Rights of Nature legislation. 

Researchers set up a network of 30 camera traps on and around parts of the Andean Bear Corridor, and within the first few months of the project have identified more than 16 individual bears, including cubs, confirming the vital importance of this region to the population. They now hope to increase the number of cameras in the area to continue to monitor the bears and help inform conservation plans.    

Prof Fiona Mathews, Professor of Environmental Biology visits Ecuador regularly with Sussex students on field trips. On one trip, Prof Mathews was shocked by the scale of deforestation happening just a few kilometres from areas of pristine forest. Realising the impact this would have on local wildlife, Prof Mathews wanted to help find solutions to the human problems underpinning deforestation.   

Prof Fiona Mathews says: 
“This project isn’t just about helping to protect wildlife, it’s also about how we do this whilst supporting local communities so that we create a truly sustainable future. 

“We’ve been looking at ways in which people can generate income without deforestation, for example through cultivating vanilla. Farmers told us that one of their main concerns was they didn’t have the legal entitlement to the land they’ve settled on: a common problem for many communities in South America. We’re therefore working to help them gather the necessary documentation, and have worked with the Environment Ministry and Provincial government to find an agreed way forward.  

“Over time, we hope to be able to help many more families as this collaboration of efforts will hopefully help to positively impact the forests and native wildlife.”  

The researchers are also working with local farmers and Ecuadorian lawyers to help communities gain access to land tenure – the legal right to own the land they live on and farm. The Environmental Ministry of Ecuador requires formal agreement that the landowner will restore 60% of the landcover to forest.

These land rights would therefore help to facilitate an improvement in biodiversity, and would also give farmers an incentive to protect their land, soils and water supplies for the future. 

Providing legal protection for the bears would also help to protect them further. The University of Sussex has a wealth of expertise in Rights of Nature cases, particularly in Ecuador, where the rights of nature are enshrined in its 2008 constitution. Over the years, Sussex researchers have been involved in a landmark ruling, which saw the cloud forest of Junín receive legal rights, ensuring its protection from those intent on mining it for copper.  Sussex researchers are now exploring if Rights of Nature legislation could be applied in the Andes and used to protect Andean bears and other wildlife. 

Dr Joanna Smallwood, Senior Lecturer in Law and project co-investigator says: 
“Ecuador has developed significant precedent through case law for the implementation of Rights of Nature, not only providing representation for nature in legal cases but enforcing the importance of considering the rights of nature in all decision making that could impact it.  

“An interesting development is that Ecuadorian Rights of Nature legislation has not only successfully challenged harmful practices for biodiversity such as mining, business practices, and the use of market-based mechanisms for conservation but has also been used to recognise and protect the rights of a wild animal as a sentient being.  

“Our project is exploring the implications of implementing the rights of the Andean bear alongside broader rights for nature in the Andean Bear Corridor and the rights of the local communities to realise just, fair and equitable solutions for nature, bears and humans." 

With the release of the new Paddington 3 movie this week, Sussex researchers hope to raise awareness of this important project and remind people to “please look after this bear”, so that Paddington and his fellow Andean bear friends can thrive in their natural habitats. A JustGiving Page has been set up to help fund the next stage of the project, which aims to see work in this space continue for years to come.