ECUADOR – Tena II: participatory reforestation in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Background & challenges

The way of life of the Kichwas people in the Ecuadorian Amazon has evolved over the centuries from nomadism, based on hunting and gathering, to the ‘chacra’ agroforestry system. The chacra meets every need the year round with an extremely diverse range of cultivated species.

But the 20th century has led to traditional agroforestry being gradually replaced by monocultures or short-cycle crop associations. These major changes in the farming system have resulted in overexploitation of natural resources, which in turn has caused deforestation, erosion, soil impoverishment and a decline in biodiversity.

Nevertheless, the traditional chacra is still present in the region. The project depends on this ancestral know-how to reorientate rent-based farms towards sustainable agroforestry.

The objective of the project is therefore to install 8,000 trees whose species are in decline on the plots worked by Kichwa farmers; action that should  lead to several economic and ecological improvements.

Indeed, for an orchard planted with fruit trees, revenue increases by over 30% after three years and 100% after five years. In addition, by planting timber species, a tree will earn the farmer around $200 when felled two decades after planting.

From an ecological point of view, this agroforestry project contributes in the following ways:

• protection of water resources; enhancing biodiversity by regeneration an ecosystem and preserving it by introducing rare species; boosting the resilience of the forest plot by planting many different species;
• tackling global warming by capturing carbon (greenhouse gas emissions, GHG are absorbed);
• tackling soil erosion and leaching by stabilising and enriching the soil with organic matter. Some species of timber trees are legumes (e.g. Cedrelinga cateniformis) and help increase the nitrogen content of the soil.
  

Since January 2014, the previous phases of this project enabled the planting of nearly 84,000 trees (including 37,000 timber and 47,000 fruit trees), as well as monitoring of the plots worked by the 144 farmers involved.

Works timeline

The work schedule has been postponed by 2 months due to the coronavirus crisis.

January – June 2020: development of organic fertilizer and preparation of seed bags

February – July 2020: purchase and harvest of seeds or seedlings

March – July 2020: bagging of seedlings

March – October 2020: nursery maintenance

November 2020 – February 2021: transporting saplings to farmers and planting trees

March 2021 – September 2022: monitoring and maintenance of plots at farmers’ homes (2 to 3 visits per year and per farmer) and training of farmers (on site at each visit)