BioBanco is a project dedicated to document the amazing biodiversity of Ecuador. Tropical forests and reefs cover less than 10% of the earth's surface, but they contain over half of the world's species. The sad fact is that the flora and fauna of these regions are the most poorly known on earth.

Ecuador, as one of the 17 Megadiversity countries of the world (The countries that holds together more than 60% of the world´s species), must be protected as much as we can. But, how can we protect it if we don´t know it? Up until now, it has been really hard to argument its protection and even worst implement conservation projects. We know aproximately 5% of all world species... the remaining, which is located mainly in countries like Ecuador, are still waiting for us to be discovered.

There is an urgent need to conduct baseline systematic inventories, faunal and floral surveys, and taxonomic studies to document the existing biodiversity in these ecosystems and to provide information critical to managing conservation efforts.