Historically, the Peruvian Forestry sector has not represented an important contribution to national development (0.9% of GDP in 2015). However, in recent years, the Peruvian government increased its interest to develop the forestry sector to become in the near future an emerging engine of the economy (Guariguata et al. 2017; FAO, 2018); with forest plantations being a viable alternative. It is relevant to clarify what it means for forest plantations in this article. A forest plantation is a forest established artificially via reforestation or afforestation; it could be commercial or follow a conservation approach. Finally, this article aims to inform the reader of the situation of Peru’s reforestation situation to encourage new leaders to engage in this sector.

Peru has the potential for establishing 10.5 million hectares of forest plantations

What is the current situation of forest plantations in Peru? According to the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR for its acronym in Spanish), Peru has the potential for establishing 10.5 million hectares of forest plantations distributed as following: 7.5 million ha in the Highlands, 2.5 million ha in the Amazon, and 0.5 million ha in the Coast (SERFOR, 2019).

On the other hand, the current rate of reforestation and afforestation is shown in Figure 1. There is a peak of 40,881 ha reforested in 2010, then there is a decline. In the last decade, the reforestation rate is 15,307 ha per year. Compared with Chile, Peru’s neighbor country, that has a rate of 97,088 ha per year in the last decade (CONAF, 2020). It means that Peru has a lot to do to be competitive in the regional forestry sector. It gives space for current and new leaders to set up new strategies. It needs to include the private and public sectors to promote reforestation with native and exotic species.

Overall, Peru has the potential to develop a huge industry based on forest plantations, but at the same time employ reforestation and afforestation to mitigate the effects of climate change. The forestry sector needs to educate new leaders to achieve the ambitious goal of dynamizing the economy to be a new source of employment.  

References

• CONAF (Corporación Nacional Forestal). Plantaciones Forestales superficie anual forestada y reforestada. Retrieve from https://www.conaf.cl/nuestros-bosques/bosques-en-chile/estadisticas-forestales/

• FAO (Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y Agricultura) (2018). La Industria de la Madera en el Perú. Lima, Perú: ITP (Instituto Tecnológico de la Producción) / CITE-MADERA.

• Guariguata, M.; Arce, J.; Ammor, T.; Capella, J.L. (2017). Las plantaciones forestales en Perú: Reflexiones, estatus actual y perspectivas a futuro. Documento Ocasional 169. CIFOR. Recuperado de: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317021930.

• SERFOR (Servicio Nacional Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre, Perú). (2019). Anuario Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre 2011 – 2019. Lima, Perú. Retrieve from http://sniffs.serfor.gob.pe/estadistica/es