Covering over 200 million hectares along the Northern and Central Andes mountain ranges and spanning six countries, the Watersheds of the Andes (WA) Region is one of exceptional diversity, ranging from lowland tropical forests in the East, to high altitude grasslands and glaciers, to extensive tropical mangrove systems in the coastal regions. The extensive rivers originating high in the Andes are a source of vital water that sustains agriculture, industry, and the people living within and outside the region. However, increasing commodity-driven developments are threatening the region's biodiversity and the ecosystem the services its inhabitants and economies depend on.

This report is the first of a two-part study that supports the targeting of conservation-related investments in the region by the MacArthur Foundation and other donors. The second part of the study is a spatial analysis of the potential impacts of future scenarios for commodity-driven land use change on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the region's watersheds.

The main objective of this report is to provide a synthesis of the impacts of major commodity developments on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the WA region and the current capacity to respond to these pressures.