Press Release

Kew launches habitat resortation project in Peru

On the south coast of Peru, at the edge of the Atacama Desert, the last surviving remnants of native dry forest are disappearing. Felled for charcoal or to make way for agriculture, their destruction is opening the way for spreading desertification.

Huarango forest has played a vital role in the lives of the people in the Nasca and Ica region for thousands of years, supplying food, timber, fodder and many other important resources. Archaeological evidence indicates that these forests were fundamental to the livelihoods of the ancient Nazca culture (responsible for the enigmatic Nazca Lines). They also house a number of increasingly rare animals, such as the slender-billed finch.

The Huarango tree (Prosopis pallida), with its deep tap-roots and feathery foliage capable of trapping desert mists, is particularly well adapted for survival in an environment that receives less then 1mm of rain per year.

2006 is the United Nations International Year of Deserts and Desertification. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, working in collaboration with a range of local Peruvian organisations including Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Grupo Pro-Aves and Universidad de Ica, is launching a new initiative aiming to combat the loss of the remaining forest in the region, and to help check the advance of the desert by facilitating and encouraging reforestation.

The three-year project, supported by the UK Darwin Initiative, will focus on recuperation of degraded areas and the sustainable use and conservation of remaining forest fragments. Activities include baseline biodiversity research, experimental habitat restoration, environmental monitoring, education and the development of sustainable non-timber forest products.

Oliver Whaley, the project manager, has been working alongside local communities and schools in the region for ten years. The relationships and environmental awareness this cooperation has fostered will be vital for the success of the project.

“This is a very exciting moment, but also a critical one”, explains Oliver. “We're down to the last remnants of an ecosystem that serves as a linchpin both for local livelihoods and biodiversity. But with the resources we now have for this project, backed by enthusiastic local support, there's an opportunity to make a real difference in the region. And, in the process, we hope to gain valuable insights for ecological rehabilitation in the world's increasingly degraded arid zones.”

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Further Information

Please contact Anna Quenby, Lauren Bird or Oliver Basciano in the RBG Kew Press Office. Telephone 020 8332 5607, E-mail pr@kew.org

Notes to Editors

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. www.kew.org.

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