Afforestation in the municipality of Curayllo, High Andes

About the Project

This project introduces 13,700 native queñua trees (Polylepis spp.) near the village of Curayllo in southern Peru, creating new forests to improve water security, stabilize soils, support biodiversity, and generate opportunities for community development.

Desert Leaves Foundation and CEDEPAS Peru began collaborating in early 2025, signing a memorandum of understanding on July 8, 2025. Together, the experts designed a replicable afforestation plan for semi-arid Andean villages, combining technical innovation with community management.

Leveraging Proven Experience

In the nearby community of Pantipantine, CEDEPAS implemented 3,700 linear meters of infiltration ditches and planted 1,200 queñua trees together with 300 pines at key water sources. Fencing and careful site management protected the young trees, ensured soil restoration, and validated that reforestation with queñua:

• Strengthens water retention and availability.
• Improves soil stability on steep and high-altitude terrain.
• Contributes to climate change mitigation.
• Lays the groundwork for community-led development around native forests.

Community Participation and Socioeconomic Impact

Forty local families from Curayllo are directly involved, providing land and labor for planting and maintenance. Families receive:

• Water tanks and solar pumps to meet household and agricultural needs.
• Workshops and hands-on training on forest ecosystem management, planting, and maintenance.
• Immediate incentives, such as meals and food kits, during planting and training activities.

Thanks to these initiatives, the community gains new skills, income opportunities, and greater capacity to manage natural resources. A local forest management committee is being created to maintain long-term benefits, from grassland restoration and water conservation to ecotourism and future carbon credit opportunities.

Environmental Benefits

• New habitat for threatened and endemic species of birds, mammals, and amphibians.
• Carbon sequestration: estimated between 2,400 and 4,800 tons in 50 years.
• Prevention of soil erosion and stabilization of hillsides.
• Regulation of water cycles for streams, wetlands, and agriculture.
• Increased landscape biodiversity and climate resilience.

By planting queñua, this initiative creates resilient forests, thriving communities, and sustainable livelihoods, showing how nature-based solutions can simultaneously address environmental and social challenges in the High Andes.