In Peru with the Champions of the Earth

Climate change is hitting Peru hard. The glaciers of the Andes are melting, the valleys are drying up and the future of Quechua culture, the descendants of the Incas, is very seriously threatened. The rural exodus has begun, Lima the capital already hosts 30% of the population (10 million inhabitants out of 33 million). For more than 20 years, Constantino Aucca in collaboration with the communities of the Andes (more than 25,000 Quechua families and 180 communities) has initiated massive reforestation which results in the planting of more than 10 million trees. As a descendant of Quechua farmers, the Peruvian biologist felt the need to act when he saw that the forests of his ancestral lands in the Andes were disappearing due to human activity. By collaborating with local communities he initiated a massive reforestation effort. We had the privilege of accompanying him during reforestation in three communities to plant more than 110,000 shrubs. On the steep slopes of the Altiplano between 4500 and 5000m above sea level, few trees can take root. It is by planting Polylepis, an endemic species, that Constantino Aucca Chutas restores local forests. This tree plays a vital role in the water cycle, collecting moisture from rising mists and returning it to the river basin below. And it is during the rainy season that it is planted. What these Andean communities are doing is unique in the world. Constantino Aucca has been awarded the titles of Champion of the Earth of Restoration by the United Nations, the Rolex Prize for Entrepreneurship, and with Florent Kaiser of Global Forest Generation the Prize of the Earth of Prince William…!

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