Partner: Acción Andina

Countries and regions: Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile (Andean region)

Sharm Adaptation Agenda systems: Nature (& Water)

Impact: From October to December 2024,  Over 1.25 million native trees were planted, 15 new conservation agreements secured forest protection, and 2,500 people were trained in wildfire prevention. More than 300 emerging leaders participated in 25+ restoration-focused workshops across the Andes region in Latin America.

In the high Andes, climate change is accelerating the degradation of ecosystems that have long supported life across South America. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, shrinking glaciers and ongoing deforestation are disrupting water cycles and threatening the wellbeing of communities that depend on these landscapes.

Acción Andina, a Race to Resilience partner, is working with local organisations and communities to reverse this trend. Its focus is on restoring native forests, protecting existing ecosystems, and supporting the people whose livelihoods are most closely tied to land and water. While Acción Andina’s reforestation efforts take place throughout the year, the Oct–Dec 2024 quarter saw standout progress across restoration, conservation, wildfire prevention and community engagement.

In this quarter alone, Acción Andina and its partners planted 1.25 million native trees, signed 15 new conservation agreements, trained more than 2,500 people in wildfire prevention, and brought over 300 people together through leadership and restoration workshops. These efforts strengthened local economies, boosted long-term forest protection, and deepened cross-border collaboration.

Native trees, local leadership

Between October and December of 2024, Acción Andina and its partners planted more than 1.25 million native seedlings across high-altitude areas of the Andes. The majority were Polylepis, a hardy genus well adapted to cold, dry conditions above 3,500 metres. These trees play a crucial role in trapping moisture, feeding springs, and sheltering native biodiversity.

In northern Peru, the Aquia community planted 150,000 trees in a single day, working alongside the regional NGO ECOAN. In Ecuador’s Chimborazo province, Andean Adventures mobilised over 900 people – including students, soldiers and residents – to take part in planting drives. The organisation also marked a milestone: one million trees planted since joining Acción Andina in 2019.

Meanwhile, in Peru’s Cajamarca region, university students joined community members for an annual planting day that added 35,000 trees to the landscape.

Seedlings came from more than ten community-run nurseries, where local teams prepared sites, tended saplings, and carried out maintenance after planting. Some nurseries have installed efficient irrigation systems to reduce water use, while others built mesh fencing to keep out livestock. In Bolivia, this has proved especially useful in remote areas where reforestation plots are easily damaged by animals.

Newer members of the Acción Andina network, such as Fundación Incana in Ecuador and Germinar in Argentina, have been particularly active in expanding nursery operations. Their work focuses on building capacity among subsistence farmers and Indigenous families who live in and around the restoration zones.

Forest protection beyond planting

Tree planting is one part of the work. Protecting existing forest cover is just as important, especially as longer dry seasons and rising temperatures increase the risk of wildfires.

Over the Oct–Dec 2024 quarter, more than 2,500 people received training in fire prevention. This included ten dedicated workshops covering early detection methods, how to create firebreaks, and what to do in emergencies.

In Argentina’s Córdoba province, Fundación Bosquizar worked with park rangers to deliver virtual fire prevention training and support 21 rounds of forest patrols across reforested sites and buffer zones. In Peru, ECOAN hosted a wildfire prevention workshop in the Carhuaconga community to increase local awareness and preparedness.

Across the region, conservation teams also installed 45 kilometres of fencing to prevent illegal logging and grazing in sensitive zones. In parallel, 20 new conservation agreements have been signed with communities, helping ensure long-term protection commitments are in place.

Training and collaboration across borders

The heart of Acción Andina is its growing network of local partners – 16 regional organisations deeply embedded in the landscapes and communities they serve. To strengthen coordination and share knowledge across borders, the initiative held its first international meeting of technicians in Nor Yauyos Cochas, Peru.

There, 63 participants came together for five days of learning and collaboration – from joint planning sessions to hands-on training in species monitoring and forest ecosystem services. Local authorities joined the conversations too, helping explore how community-led restoration could scale further across the Andes.

In total, more than 300 people took part in leadership and skills-based workshops across the network during the reporting period. These sessions covered everything from ecosystem management to youth engagement and helped reinforce a shared approach while recognising local differences.

Building a culture of restoration

Acción Andina’s long-term success depends on communities not just planting trees, but shaping what restoration looks like in their own landscapes and lives.

Over the past quarter, more than 5,000 people took part in conservation-related activities. Around 1,500 students joined environmental education workshops covering climate impacts, forest ecology and sustainable land use. In Bolivia, Faunagua worked with a women’s group, the Warmi Kewiñas, to deliver forest training designed to improve water availability for households and farms.

In Ecuador’s Pichincha province, FONAG worked with schools to teach children about water conservation. In Argentina, Fundación Bosquizar ran environmental festivals and signed cooperation agreements with four communities to guide future collaboration. In total, 15 new conservation agreements have been signed across the initiative this year.

Learn more about Acción Andina

Coordinated by US-based Global Forest Generation and Peruvian conservation nonprofit, Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN), Acción Andina is a community-based initiative working to protect high-Andean forest ecosystems for water security and their invaluable benefits to nature and millions of people in the region. The initiative was recognized by Prince William’s Earthshot Prize in 2023 in the Protect and Restore Nature Category, and as one of the most successful ecosystem restoration efforts in the world by the United Nations in 2024.

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