Tree conservation in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Columbia

Threatened trees species recovery in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia

Partner: Tooro Botanical Gardens
Years: 2022-2025

This project aims at safeguarding 18 globally threatened tree species in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the northern Caribbean region of Colombia, through reinforcement planting and enhanced community protection.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta endangered tree species recovery project led by Fundación Bachaqueros aims at rescuing and protecting the few individuals and last populations of 18 globally threatened tree species in the Colombian northern Caribbean region, still surviving after generations of human pressure. These trees maintain key functions for the resilience of their ecosystems, the native fauna, and the “natural resources” in a broader sense. The project will work through strengthening an existing network of community nurseries established by Fundación Bachaqueros. Based on several years of experience, the project team will propagate the target species from seeds collected in the wild to then reintroduce them in key ecosystem parcels. With mechanisms like community conservation agreements, the project will allow the active protection of the remaining enclaves of those species, the enrichment in term of threatened tree species diversity and the existing ecosystems, the creation and management of areas dedicated to threatened tree species conservation with Forest reserves. Fundación Bachaqueros will also work with the Jardin Botanico de Cartagena, another Franklinia beneficiary in the region, to expand its geographical scope and include other threatened tree species from the coastal region and the highly diverse Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. The project will also improve the capacity of Fundación Bachaqueros to put in place a monitoring system to study the ecology of the target species, identify new species, enhance awareness raising efforts and the mechanisms to conserve the habitats and the emblematic species of this region.