Tena, Ecuador, October 2023
Since completion of planting activities, the outlook for the participatory reforestation project in the Ecuadorian Amazon, implemented in the canton of Tena, is good.
After some slowdown in activities due to political instability in Ecuador in 2022, plus a few plots being abandoned for personal reasons, monitoring in 2023 went smoothly and the replanted plots are now showing good results.
The 14,183 trees planted between September 2021 and January 2022 in the communities of Santo Urku and Kachiwañushka, as well as the additional 3,850 trees planted in November 2022 in Kachiwañushka, are now reaching maturity, which is increasing their chances of survival.
During the first half of 2023, forestry engineers from the local NGO Ishpingo visited and examined all the plots of land belonging to the project beneficiaries. This monitoring ensureds the 35 beneficiaries have good tree growth and served to complete their training in the use of organic fertiliser and pruning fruit trees.
Out of the 35 plots, 25 have a tree survival rate of over 80%, of which 4 over 90%. To compensate for the mortality observed in 2022, 3,850 new trees were distributed to the most motivated beneficiaries and planted with them. For this new planting wave, all the plots (12 benefitted from new seedlings) are well maintained and have a survival rate of over 80% for these new seedlings.
The project audit was also finalised this year. GoodPlanet and A Tree for You went on a field mission in December 2022, during which the technical conditions of the project were checked. The beneficiaries’ plots were visited and experts from A Tree for You gave their external view of the project as well as advice, especially on weeding and plot maintenance, pruning citrus trees, and water management (hydrology). In 2023, administrative matters were studied were also studied in order to complete the technical audit.
In the second half of 2023 and in 2024, the final year of the project, Ishpingo will continue monitoring the plots regularly to ensure the young trees survive and finalise training of the farmers.
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