Have you ever heard of Acción Andina, one of the UN’s seven flagship initiatives for global restoration? Co-founded by 2 NGOs Global Forest Generation and Andean Ecosystems Association (ECOAN), Acción Andina aims to protect and restore high-altitude Andean forests in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador. To quote Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP: “It takes a single chainsaw to cut down a forest, but it takes a community to restore and sustain it. By bringing people together, and using both Indigenous values and scientific methods, Acción Andina is helping to revive natural water sources, create jobs, and support communities to grow even stronger.” It sounds impressive, important, and amazing, right? Well, it isn’t just pretty words, Acción Andina is also putting the work in!
Polylepis forest in Ecuador. Image: Todd Brown, Mongabay
Since 2018, they have launched 23 restoration and conservation projects focused on the high-altitude Polylepis forests of Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, and Ecuador. They have engaged +25,000 people in the restoration of 5,000 hectares of Andean forests and the protection of more than 11,250 hectares of existing woodland. By 2045, the initiative aims to restore 1 million hectares of forest, an area 50 times the size of Buenos Aires, and create between 25,000 and 30,000 jobs.
Do you know what’s even better? Their work isn’t just about protecting and restoring nature, it is also about empowering local communities and indigenous people! So far, more than 200 local communities have benefited from expanded economic opportunities. These include the development of community microenterprises, such as tree nurseries dedicated to cultivating queuñas, as well as improved access to health care services, water collection systems, cleaner-burning clay stoves, and solar panels.
Acción Andina works with a multitude of partners across 5 countries, bringing collaboration to the center of its work. For example (and because I cannot stop writing about this great initiative), in Bolivia, they collaborate with Faunagua to reforest and restore queuña forests on the northern slopes of the Tunari mountain range in the Cochabamba region. Since 2022, Faunagua, in partnership with several local communities, has established 3 community-run nurseries and produced 250,000 seedlings of two queuña species. They have also together created women-led groups in the community of Chiaraje, where local women have taken on key roles in growing, reforesting, and conserving queuñas. A great way to combine nature protection and restoration, and women’s empowerment: everything we love!
Read more about the initiative and the great work Acción Andina is doing:
https://accion-andina.org/?doing_wp_cron=1739976043.6070721149444580078125
https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/in-the-high-andes-a-dream-to-restore-a-special-forest-takes-root/
If you wanna read about the 6 other flagship initiatives for global restoration:
https://www.unep.org/es/noticias-y-reportajes/comunicado-de-prensa/la-naturaleza-se-esta-recuperando-la-onu-premia-siete
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3 w
It's a shining example of how collaborative efforts can lead to significant environmental and social benefits
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4 w
This is very encouraging. I love it.
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4 w
Andina's impactful work in the Andean region is truly inspiring! 🌿🌏 #NatureRestoration #CommunityEmpowerment"
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4 w
Impressive idea in restoration of the climate change ideas
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4 w
Combining Indigenous knowledge with scientific methods is exactly the kind of approach needed for lasting environmental impact.
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4 w
@rashid_kamau definitely! And this initiative doesn't only use indigenous knowledge, it also includes them in the decision-making and implementation, which is exactly what we need to be doing for all projects!
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4 w
Love their work!
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4 w
This is an amazing job in restoring climate changes
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4 w
This is an amazing job , climate change actions involves everyone and taking this intiative that positive insight, reforestation, restoration, taking care of the remaining forest and natural resources, water reservoir,I appreciate them keep up the good work great work to transition.
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@sally_wangari Climate action requires collective effort, and every step toward reforestation, restoration, and conservation makes a difference.