Bringing hope to Peru’s dry forests

A Rocha Peru and ContourGlobal have launched the final video in their Harvesting Hope series. This marks the fourth and final year of this innovative partnership which was formed to restore dry forest in northern Peru. This short film explains why Peruvian dry forests are crucial to combating desertification, natural disasters, and protecting endangered species. It also tells the story of how a unique partnership between A Rocha Peru, the energy company ContourGlobal, and local community members in Talara, have given fresh hope that dry forests can be restored.

Since the partnership began in 2014, 12 hectares of dry forest have been reforested on ContourGlobal’s wind farm site. The new film highlights how local people, such as Zulema (pictured below), are committed to restoring dry forests. These restoration efforts have led to native birds, such as the endangered Peruvian Plantcutter, nesting once again, and have prompted other native plants to naturally flourish. Additionally, as Camille Allan, Executive Director of A Rocha Peru, said, ‘the partnership has provided children and adult community members the opportunity to learn the importance of dry forest restoration, many of whom have become local environmental leaders.’

The goal of this partnership was to restore Peruvian dry forests, one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world, and to promote social development in and around ContourGlobal’s wind farm in Talara, Piura, in northern Peru. The resulting project was designed and implemented by A Rocha Peru together with eight neighbourhood councils adjacent to the wind farm along with support from ContourGlobal and Conservamos por Naturaleza, who produced the video.

As stated in the video, ‘While there are people involved in the conservation of Peru’s dry forests, there is hope.’