The Gran Chaco Foundation has developed a community-led reforestation model that has enabled the planting of 300,000 native plants, the reforestation of 3,000 hectares and the provision of support to 66 grassroots organisations across six provinces in the Argentine Gran Chaco. The initiative combines forest recovery, production and community development, and draws on lessons learnt to move towards larger-scale restoration strategies.
Since 2008, through its ‘Monte’ programme, the Gran Chaco Foundation has been implementing a community-based reforestation model in the American Gran Chaco, the second-largest contiguous forest area in South America. The approach is based on a holistic perspective: the conservation of native forest and productive development in contexts of high climate vulnerability must be addressed in a coordinated manner and in conjunction with the family and community economy.
The model is built around three complementary lines of action. Firstly, forest enrichment and active regeneration through the planting of native species, with a particular focus on the white carob tree, to restore degraded areas, re-establish biological corridors and contribute to soil recovery.A second line of action involves the implementation of integrated agroforestry and silvopastoral systems, which combine tree cover, crops and irrigated fodder on the same plot of land. The integration of productive components enables reforestation to generate tangible benefits for families, such as fodder, crops and food sovereignty, thereby encouraging the continuation of these practices.
These lines of action are complemented by forest management through regenerative livestock farming, using rotational grazing schemes and fallow periods that allow young trees and regrowth to exceed the critical height before being exposed to grazing by livestock. In this approach, livestock management is incorporated as part of the forest management strategy.
The experience also enabled the identification of four enabling conditions that underpin the various strategies: land tenure, the leadership of Indigenous and Creole women, water infrastructure and technological innovation. Legal certainty regarding land tenure facilitates access to permits and funding; women’s participation strengthens community management of the woodland; and access to water improves the survival of plantations.
Added to this is the use of innovation and monitoring tools. Community connectivity, traceability applications and drone-based monitoring enable management to be professionalised, interventions to be monitored, and the traceability required for internationally funded conservation projects to be maintained.
An experience with a wide geographical reach
The results achieved reflect a sustained effort over time in Argentina: 300,000 new native plants introduced, 3,000 hectares reforested and 45,251 hectares under sustainable management and conservation schemes in the provinces of Chaco, Salta, Formosa, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Jujuy. At a social and community level, the model was developed in partnership with 66 associations and 4,601 farming families, strengthening their roots and their role as guardians of the ecosystem.
The systematisation of these lessons aims to provide evidence and tools that can be applied to the design of new restoration projects and public policies at a territorial scale. In this way, the experience accumulated by the Gran Chaco Foundation forms a basis for planning new conservation and restoration actions for the native forest, integrated with community development.