Restoration of Degraded Areas and Reforestation in Cáceres and Cravo Norte, Colombia

What the project does.

The reforestation of grasslands in Colombia, previously used for extensive cattle grazing and exposed to alluvial gold mining, will be achieved through sustainable management of forest resources to foster the natural regeneration of this bioculture ecosystem.

25 native tree species have been planted in different stand models to allow for the natural regeneration of flown in seeds on the reforestation sites. This approach is different to other typical commercial plantation forestry entities currently active in Colombia as the management of mixed stands is far more challenging than that of monocultures. Little is still known about several tree species planted in the project, particularly with regard to their growth performance and silvicultural management and as such, grassland reforestation project activity offers a unique opportunity to obtain valuable knowledge about silvicultural management practices for mixed plantation forestry and the  suitability of native tree species for commercial plantation forestry.

By replacing unsustainable activities such as cattle farming and gold mining with sustainable commercial activities such as reforestation and native plantations, the project is expected to generate a significant increase in existing carbon stocks and GHG removals.

ARR (Afforestation, Reforestation, Revegetation)