The 7,000-kilometer-long Andes Mountains, which make up only 1% of the earth's surface, are home to a rich and diverse ecosystem. There are 15% of all plant and wildlife species, including more than fifty endangered species like the Andes condor. Over the years, deforestation, intensive grazing, and mining have depleted the Andean forests, leaving less than 10% of the region's native forests. As a result, large parts of the underlying agricultural land have become infertile and water supplies, heavily influenced by glacier shrinkage, have dwindled. All this impacts local and indigenous communities that depend on the land for their livelihoods, as well as the water security of millions of people across the continent.
“The native forests of the Andean region are not just one of the richest and most diverse ecosystems in the world, but they also represent a key tool in the fight against climate change,” says Florent Kaiser, President of Acción Andina, a grassroots, community-based initiative working across South America to protect native forest ecosystems in the High Andes. “The knowledge and skills of indigenous communities that are the nearest to the problem of deforestation are also the closest to the solution.”
Acción Andina
Co-founded by the nonprofit organisations Global Forest Generation and Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos, Acción Andina brings to life the ancient Inca principles of “Ayni and Minka,” of reciprocity and deep commitment to working together for the common good. It unites tens of thousands of people from local and indigenous communities to protect and restore native forests and ecosystems.
The initiative provides fundamental resources, including salary support and project and financial management. It offers also technical training for local conservation leaders, organisations, and communities to develop long-term land protection and restoration activities. Acción Andina works hand-in-hand with local communities of the High Andes to carry out activities for climate resilience, water security, and biodiversity.
Winner of the Earthshot Prize 2023, Acción Andina is helping thousands of people by increasing food and water security, providing new income opportunities, and contributing to a more sustainable management of natural resources. Since 2018, Acción Andina has planted nearly 10 million native trees in five countries, restoring more than 4,000 hectares of the Andean forests and protecting more than 11,000 hectares of native forest.
They aim, by 2045, to protect and restore one million hectares of native Andean forest ecosystems in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Meanwhile, one of the founders, Global Forest Generation, which develops large-scale ecosystem restoration initiatives, plans to replicate Acción Andina's model around the world to restore the most critical and neglected ecosystems.
Website:
Name:
Acción Andina
Sector:
Bottom-up community initiative
Plus:
Involvement of a new generation of leaders and communities with the support of a network of experts and resources
Features:
Protection and restoration of native forest ecosystems throughout the Andean region
This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano
Image: Omri D. Cohen, Unsplash