Tena, Ecuador, November 2022
In the canton of Tena, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, the trees, planted between March and August 2021 in the three Kichwa communities of Sindy, San Carlos and Santo Urku, are continuing to grow in excellent conditions! The plantation includes a total of 10,013 trees of 15 wood tree species (most of which are endangered), and 16 fruit tree species adapted to the area and the needs of local populations.
Forestry engineers from the local NGO Ishpingo have continued making follow-up visits to each of the plots to ensure the trees are growing well with the 48 project beneficiaries. They check the plots are well maintained (weeds can smother young trees), that there isn’t too much shade, and whether any associated crops are hindering tree growth. The soil and the plants are also carefully observed to detect any possible deficiencies or diseases.
These visits also served to measure the mortality rate of the seedlings, which remains low: over 80% of the plots have a survival rate upwards of 80%, and the average survival rate for all the plots is 81%. This slightly exceeds the expected objectives in the field, with 8,110 living trees to date for an objective of 8,000 planted and permanent trees. As the plantations are now almost two years old, it is normal the mortality rate is dropping and stabilising. There will be a final follow-up visit of all the plots in the end of 2022, beginning of 2023.
Interview with Carlos Francisco – Community of San Carlos :
“The Equatorian government and private companies gain a lot of money and profits from oil in the Amazon Forest. In Quito and the big cities, they are building lots of roads, schools, and running other projects. But for us, los Amazonicos, there is nothing left. Over the last four years, no major works have been carried out in the region and all the communities feel they have been abandoned. The project run by Ishpingo comes to help us with its nursery project and the plantation of rare trees, and that is concrete. Thanks to this project, we now have wood and fruit trees. We are extremely grateful to have this project in our communitie.”
