While native forests continue to disappear in Argentina, Fundación Vida Silvestre reached a special milestone in Misiones: in the last 16 years, it has already planted more than 200,000 native trees.
The program seeks to recover the Misiones jungle, one of the last refuges of the endangered jaguar.
The initiative is part of the landscape restoration program that the organization has maintained since 2008.
This combines science, community commitment, and territorial action in search of recovering the native jungle and caring for the ecosystem of essential species like the jaguar.
The work is carried out together with more than 200 rural families from Andresito and San Pedro and, so far, has allowed the recovery of 640 hectares with native species.
“The initiative goes far beyond just planting trees; it involves a social and productive background work,” said Lucía Lazzari, forest coordinator of Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina.
And she detailed that through this program “an equilibrium is sought that responds not only to environmental issues but also to the needs faced by the families involved.”
Restoration of native trees with a community focus
The program is not limited to the reforestation of native trees: with the support of municipal governments and INTA, it also includes assistance in improving water access for families and support for productive activities.
Additionally, through voluntary agreements, local producers incorporate native trees into their farms, develop agroforestry systems, and adopt sustainable practices.
This year, 38 families joined with new plantations on stream banks and degraded areas.
In this regard, Lazzari emphasized that “the support and commitment of rural families are essential to achieve visible results in the landscape and in the lives of people that endure over time.”
The restoration of the Misiones jungle, key to caring for the jaguar
Currently, the program’s focus is on San Pedro.
There, the aim is to reconnect the Cruce Caballero Provincial Park with the Yabotí Biosphere Reserve, a vital corridor for Misiones wildlife.
“The sites where we work are areas of high importance for the connectivity of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest, or Misiones jungle,” Lazzari pointed out.
The work in this area is key because it is “defined as Optimal Landscape for Jaguar Conservation (POCY),” according to a study developed by CONICET.
Based on this, the restoration areas were identified as priorities to conserve the jaguar’s habitat.
This emblematic species of Argentine wildlife today faces threats such as habitat loss, poaching, conflicts with livestock, and road accidents.
The development strategy of Vida Silvestre
The restoration work is part of a broader strategy that Vida Silvestre has maintained in Misiones for more than two decades.
This is based on experience that shows that landscape restoration can be a sustainable development policy.
The project combines the reconstruction of ecosystems, the strengthening of local economies, and the protection of endangered species.
With 16 years of continuous work, the initiative is consolidated as one of the most sustained restoration experiences in the country.
