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Global environmental changes in the high tropical Andes

Cuesta Camacho, F.X.

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Citation for published version (APA):Cuesta Camacho, F. X. (2019). Global environmental changes in the high tropical Andes.

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Restoring Andean Landscapes to Secure Local Environmental Services and Global BenefitsCuesta F.

Mountain Research and Development (2017) 37, 153-154

DOI: 10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00148.1

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Restoring Andean Landscapesto Secure Local EnvironmentalServices and Global Benefits

Effective landscape restoration practices

require scientific knowledge aboutecosystem functions, land use history,and institutional arrangements. In closecollaboration with local partners, the

Consortium for the SustainableDevelopment of the Andean Ecoregion(CONDESAN) is working to develop andassess restoration practices in Andean

ecosystems. The approach combinesvarious tools at the landscape scale,emphasizing the need to integraterestoration actions into land use planningand the importance of monitoring

restoration practices. The sustainabilityof restoration practices remains achallenge, but the work underway willallow CONDESAN to generate sound

alternatives for Andean landscapes.

Knowledge gaps hamperrestoration efforts

Tropical montane forests and highAndean grasslands are 2 of the mostbiodiverse ecosystems worldwide.Despite their limited area comparedwith the Amazonian lowlands,tropical Andean ecosystems providefundamental environmental serviceson local, national, and global scales,the most important services beingbiodiversity conservation, carbonstorage, and water supply for cities,agriculture, and hydropower(Buytaert et al 2011). Althoughtropical Andean landscapes arehighly relevant to sustainabledevelopment in the Andeancountries, large areas are convertedevery year to serve agricultural uses,urbanization, and, more recently,mining. This has increasingly givenrise to concerns about the loss ofbiodiversity and disruptions of theenvironmental services that theseecosystems provide. In response,international cooperation andgovernments are increasinglyencouraging restoration practices in

degraded tropical landscapes andhave set ambitious goals, such as therestoration of 20 million hectares ofLatin American tropical landscapesby 2020. However, there is still a longway to go to link the global agendawith local processes. Persistingknowledge gaps continue to hamperthe implementation of sustainableland management practices,including restoration. For example, itis still poorly understood howtropical Andean ecosystems function,how different land use practicesaffect their functioning, and, mostimportantly, how they respond todifferent restoration practices.

CONDESAN’s approach tolandscape restoration

In order to take full advantage of theopportunity offered by these newinitiatives, the Consortium for theSustainable Development of theAndean Ecoregion (CONDESAN)conceives of restoration as a tool,taking into account the followingaspects:

� Restoration is an integralcomponent of land management,and as such, it is closely linked tosustainable production systems.Restoration actions must thereforesimultaneously take account of thebenefits and needs of landowners,the development agenda of thelocal government, and the interestsof environmental agencies.Institutional arrangements are akey aspect in securing the long-term sustainability of restorationactions.

� A clearly articulated conceptualframework is urgently needed toprovide a context for therestoration practices promoted.This must include clear andrealistic goals that are linked to the

desired characteristics of theecosystems in question (Hobbs andHarris 2001). Defining goals is anessential element in designingrestoration actions that areeffectively oriented towardachieving the desired outcomes. Inaddition, the conceptualframework must reflect thedynamic nature of ecosystems. Theresulting variability means thatcertain short- and long-termoutcomes of restoration practicesmight not be adequately assessed byindicators that compare thecurrent state of the ecosystem to apast state. Indicators for assessingrestoration outcomes shouldtherefore take the desired futurecharacteristics of the ecosystems inquestion as the point of reference.

� Landscape restoration actions takeplace in a wide range ofenvironmental and socioeconomicconditions. This requires theadoption of common standards toensure that restoration actions areimplemented in a consistent andcomparable way. These standardscan be defined by designing andapplying a commonmethodological approach, and bydeveloping protocols to guide theimplementation and subsequentevaluation of the actions.Moreover, the use of commonprotocols and a set of commontools will also ensure thecomparability of restorationactions and their transferabilityfrom one ecosystem to another.

� Restoration actions must bemonitored and evaluated as part ofa continuous learning process onhow the given ecosystems functionand how they respond torestoration practices. The adoptionof a common monitoring protocolcontaining criteria and indicatorsthat were standardized by leading

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scientists as well as validated bylocal practitioners is essential forensuring cross-compliance withmultiple restoration goals andobjectives (PACTO 2013).Monitoring is key in assessing theaccomplishments of a restorationprocess, starting with theevaluation of the methods used andcontinuing with subsequentassessments of whether therestoration site is following adesired pathway. In addition,monitoring provides anopportunity to search for andappraise sensitive indicators. Suchindicators are fundamental inmonitoring dynamic processes interrestrial ecosystems, such asrestoration of environmentalservices, carbon sequestration, andbiodiversity preservation.

Evaluating restoration practices

in Ecuador and Peru

Taking into account theseconsiderations, CONDESAN, with thesupport of 2 regional initiatives—EcoAndes, a project funded by theGlobal Environment Facility throughthe United Nations EnvironmentProgramme, and the Andean ForestProgram, funded by the Swiss Agencyfor Development and Cooperation—and in close collaboration with localnongovernmental partners—Fundaci�on Imaymana, Nature andCulture International Peru, andFondo de P�aramos de Tungurahua—is helping to restore around 5000hectares of montane forest and 2000

hectares of alpine grasslands (p�aramosand punas) in 5 Andean landscapes ofEcuador and Peru. To support theimplementation of these actions, 10experimental studies have been set upto assess the effectiveness of differentrestoration practices. The studiescover forest and non-forestecosystems with different objectivesand land use histories. A first groupof experiments is aimed at restoringhabitat structure to improve remnantforest patches and ecosystemproductivity, as well as soil physicalconditions and vegetation cover toincrease water infiltration and waterregulation capacity. The secondgroup of experiments focuses onrecovering heavily degradedpasturelands by establishing complexagroforestry systems using analogforestry as the main approach. Inanalog forestry, the forest’s structureand its functioning with regard toservice delivery are consideredcritical in establishingsocioeconomically productivelandscapes with a high biodiversity tobiomass ratio (Dickinson 2014).

Generating knowledge fornational restoration programs

The various experiments will bemonitored during 2 consecutive yearsusing a common set of sensitiveecological and socioeconomicindicators. By measuring indicatorslinked to productivity (carbonsequestration), plant communitystructure and composition, and keysoil properties, we will be able togenerate critical knowledge abouthow the restoration practices affectthe ecosystems.

The knowledge generated throughthese actions will be disseminated andincorporated in the nationalrestoration programs that bothcountries are currently promoting. InPeru, the knowledge will feed into theNational Program for the Recovery ofDegraded Areas implemented by theNational Forestry Service of theMinistry of Agriculture andIrrigation. In Ecuador, the knowledgewill inform the National ForestRestoration Program of the Ministryof Environment.

REFERENCES

Buytaert W, Cuesta-Camacho F, Tob�on C. 2011.Potential impacts of climate change on theenvironmental services of humid tropical alpineregions. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20:19–33.Dickinson AK. 2014. Analog forestry: Creatingproductive landscapes. European Tropical ForestResearch Network News 56:103–110.Hobbs RJ, Harris JA. 2001. Restoration ecology:Repairing the earth’s ecosystems in the newmillennium. Restoration Ecology 9:239–246.PACTO [Pacto pela Restauracao da MataAtlantica]. 2013. Protocolo de Monitoramento paraprogramas e projetos de restauracao florestal.Recife, Brazil: Pacto pela Restauracao da MataAtlantica.

AUTHOR

Francisco Cuesta1,2

francisco.cuesta@condesan.org1Biodiversity Department, Consortium for theSustainable Development of the AndeanEcoregion (CONDESAN), Germ�an Alem�anE12-123, 170504 Quito, Ecuadorwww.condesan.org2Palaeoecology & Landscape Ecology,Institute for Biodiversity and EcosystemDynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam,PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, TheNetherlands

� 2017 Cuesta. This open access article islicensed under a Creative Commons Attribution4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Pleasecredit the authors and the full source.

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