Reforestation in the tropical Andes
Our reforestation work includes the traditional recuperation/rewilding of clear cut areas, but also enrichment planting of selectively logged forests with hardwood trees and the creation of multiple-use forest buffer zones. We’re also involved in enriching pastures and coffee and cacao plantations with legumes, fruit trees, and other plants that improve land productivity and attract wildlife. This reduces the need for clear cutting new areas by increasing the lifespan of existing pastures, and provides shade for crops and habitat for wildlife. We also raise public awareness of the importance of reforestation with native species, as opposed to using exotic trees such as eucalyptus and pine which damage soils and lower water tables.
Since we began our work we have built over a dozen tree nurseries in different communities and with local schools and universities across northern Peru. Together these have produced hundreds of thousands of trees, all of which have been planted in rural areas where our focal primate species live and/or in the buffer zones of the community managed conservation areas we help create and manage