Woods Recovery In The Argentinian Patagonia

Projects

Recovering burned forests in the Andes

We take care of the Argentinian forests that have been degraded after several devastating fires in Patagonia. We restore native habitats by regenerating complex ecosystems and actively involving the local communities.

WHERE

Argentina – Patagonia

MAIN THREATS

Fires and destruction of forestal ecosystems

TREES PLANTED

Ciprés de la cordillera, Coihue e Lenga

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Argentina

CONTEXT

Nature in ashes.

In 2015 and 2021, the region of Patagonia in Argentina was hit by extremely severe fires that caused the loss of vast areas of forest. In 2015 alone, more than 29.000 hectares of native forests were lost.

Fires in this region are mostly of arson origin. They often get out of hand and are amplified due to the climate crisis, which makes the area increasingly vulnerable. These fires have caused significant damage to Patagonia’s forest ecosystems, threatening the existence and health of Andean forests and the species that found their natural habitat among these trees. Global warming has also contributed to the reduction of available water sources in the area, further increasing threats to this precious nature.

We restore the native woods.

We focus on the Reserva Provincial Naciente del Río Tigre, a protected natural area in the Chubut province. Our main goal is to restore what fires have degraded, through an ecological regeneration plan in collaboration with the local communities.

We actively involve the local Andean communities in collective planting, by enhancing the role of local nurseries. The planting of native forest trees provides several environmental benefits: CO2 absorption, of course, but also the conservation of biodiversity, soil protection, the regulation of the hydrological cycle, and the restoration of the landscape.

We collaborate with the local nurseries.

We collaborate with nurseries in the Chubut province to enhance the skills and resources of the local folks. We actively involve local communities in collective plantations and offer them professional training in sustainable forest management.

We get locals directly involved in the process of forest regeneration: we include them in trainings on local ecosystems, but especially on how to care for the trees we replant together. Through these initiatives, we are able to promote greater environmental awareness and cultivate a sense of hope for the future.

We help the wood rise from the ashes.

We are committed to restoring the Andean forests to how they were before the fires. Therefore, we plant only native trees, such as the Ciprés de la Cordillera. This choice supports the conservation of the local biodiversity and increases it, simply by promoting the balance of the previous local ecosystems.

The trees we replant in Patagonia absorb CO2 and play a key role in protecting the soil from erosion and in regulating the local hydrological cycle. A damaged forest fails to provide the ecosystem the services needed by people and wildlife in general. By promoting the regeneration of the original green spaces, we are able to restore a truly natural balance.

"Regenerating a forest is not that different from renovating a cathedral that has been burned down. The same complexity is at stake".

Guido Cencini, agronomist of zeroCO2.