QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador's exotic species of orchids, parrots and monkeys have won the small, mountainous country on the west coast of South America fame among conservationists and nature-loving tourists.

But its exuberant environment is also a target for the illegal wildlife trade. Last year, authorities seized 1,521 animal and plant specimens in mainland Ecuador, according to officials at Green Surveillance, a partnership for species and forestry control between environmental groups and the government.

More than 25,000 shark fins and sea cucumbers - an ocean critter considered an Asian delicacy and aphrodisiac - were smuggled from the country's pristine Galapagos islands.

"It's a tiny country, with good roads, weak controls, a lot of corruption and a tremendous diversity of species. So, it's a country that stokes a lot of interest among collectors," said Bernardo Ortiz, director for South America of Traffic, an international wildlife trade-monitoring program.

In Latin America, bigger nations like Brazil, Colombia and Peru face more wildlife smuggling than Ecuador. But Ecuador's size - similar to the U.S. state of Colorado - has environmentalists concerned the impact on the environment is far greater here than elsewhere.

"It's the country's size that makes it so vulnerable. The impact of the trade exhausts populations much more than in Brazil or Colombia, which are much larger," Ortiz said.

Traders smuggle live animals as well as fins and skins.

SHARKS, SEA CUCUMBERS AND ORCHIDS

One of the toughest problems in Ecuador is the illegal shark fin and sea cucumber trade in its Galapagos islands, located 600 miles west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean and cherished for their unique wildlife. The islands, famous for their rare species of plant and animal life, are part of Ecuador.

Last year, authorities seized 5,343 fins - from an estimated 1,235 sharks - in island raids and 23,846 sea cucumbers, according to Galapagos National Park.

Sea cucumbers, often called "earthworms of the sea," are spiny creatures similar to starfish that live on ocean rocks and help recycle nutrients back into the food chain. In the eastern Amazon jungle and Andes, the most vulnerable species include monkeys, parrots, snakes and orchids.

Nearly 3,000 kinds of orchids are found in Ecuador and 43 percent of them are native to the country. Collectors are willing to pay up to $10,000 for a flower that is nearing extinction and from $300 to $500 for a common variety.

"Prices paid abroad are impressive - $2,000, $500, $5,000. Here, salesmen pay just $15 or $20, so it's clearly a good business," said Miguel Vasquez, research coordinator at local scientific and conservation group Ecociencia.

Nearly 94 percent of the plant species smuggled out of Ecuador are orchids, a delicate and fragrant flower valued by many.

CONTROLS NEEDED

Environmentalists say Ecuador needs a law that regulates the transportation of species to cut down on smuggling.

Many argue that not only will conservation help the country's green areas thrive but it could prove lucrative.

Ecuador could create a management plan for what kinds of trades should be permitted and for which species, naturally excluding the nearly 200 that are endangered in the wild, the environmentalists say.

It would also cut down on unnecessary deaths. Eighty percent of smuggled species end up dying before they reach their final destination.

Often locals smuggle out animals hoping to make quick cash. But they are paid less than foreigners, who in the past have posed as tourists to Ecuador to illegally transport prized butterflies and orchids out by plane, authorities said.

In Galapagos, smugglers stuff shark fins in fuel tanks or sacks of coffee in an effort to hide the smell from dogs trained to sniff for their scent in island ports.

Authorities hope that conservation will give Ecuador a viable alternative to its main export, crude oil, on which its economy is heavily dependent, by paving the way for ecotourism and scientific research.

"This is Ecuador's hope for the future," said Sergio Lasso, wildlife coordinator for the Environment Ministry. "Once our oil is gone, all we'll have is our biodiversity," he said.