Fernando Ramos is the Manager of the National Reforestation Program (NRP) of the Ministry of Environment and Water. As a biologist, he has contributed to private and public organizations to promote forest restoration and conservation projects.

On this occasion, we interviewed him to learn more about the NRP, the role of this program in the National Forest Restoration Plan 2019-2040 and the achievements in reforestation.

Photography: Courtesy of Fernando Ramos

1. What is the role of the National Reforestation Program and how does it contribute to the protection of forests in the Ecuadorian Amazon?

The National Reforestation Program is a flagship project of the Ministry of Environment and Water that aims to meet the needs of recovery of vegetation cover of the continental territory of Ecuador, linked to the principles of the Constitution, the National Development Plan 2017 – 2021 and the flagship intervention REVERDECER ECUADOR which has restoration as a cross-cutting component.

The NRP management model contemplates a more comprehensive vision of restoration through inter-institutional linkage and with private and public actors at different levels, in order to achieve strategic alliances that allow meeting national objectives. Additionally, the NRP has identified an area of 348,918 ha with a very high prioritization category, distributed in all provinces of the Amazon.

2. How are NRP efforts articulated with PROAmazonía’s work? Why is PROAmazonía’s management of forest conservation important?

The MAAE and PROAmazonía administer and deliver financial incentives from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to different actors in the provinces of the Amazon region and the dry forest ecosystem of the province of Loja, following a selection process that analyzes the technical and administrative capacities of the proposing institutions.

In this regard, financing has been committed for the restoration of 15,000 hectares, in compliance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In this regard, PROAmazonía is one of our main strategic partners for the fulfillment of the goals and objectives of the Program.

3. What have been the main reforestation achievements of the NRP during the first quarter of 2021, especially in the Ecuadorian Amazon?

On March 4, 2021, a Responsible Party Agreement was signed between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Humanist Institute for Development (HIVOS) for the restoration of 4,000 hectares in the provinces of Sucumbíos and Orellana, with an investment of USD 1,088,000.00.

With this achievement, PROAmazonía and the NRP have met the 15,000 ha intervention plan. The projects underway not only contribute to the recovery of degraded areas, but also promote biocommerce as an alternative for sustainable use.

4. Why are reforestation programs important in Ecuador and what benefits do they bring in the medium and long term?

Current scenarios regarding the loss and degradation of ecosystems are increasingly frequent and there is greater pressure to change land use. As a result, they directly affect people’s quality of life and leave rural populations with fewer resources in a vulnerable state, in terms of environmental, economic and social aspects.

Aware that environmental recovery cannot be separated from the socio-economic factor, the NRP, as part of the restoration projects, considers support for local bio-entrepreneurships as a mechanism to generate resources that improve the living conditions of the beneficiary communities.

5. How does conservation and reforestation help Amazonian communities and the population in general?

Forest restoration aims to recover ecosystem functions through the application of practices to reproduce or recover ecosystem services, such as water regulation, or the fixation and absorption of large amounts of carbon, among others, so it can be considered as a method of climate change mitigation.

Forest restoration also improves the socioeconomic conditions of the inhabitants of the areas by increasing sources of employment, increasing productivity without damaging the environment and promoting bio-entrepreneurships.