Polylepis Project

This case study was originally published in our .

As part of its sustainable development strategy, Antamina is promoting conservation efforts in Huascaran National Park and surrounding areas. The Southern Conchucos Polylepis Corridor will restore and conserve the highly threatened Polylepis forest habitat endemic to the Andes. The project is a joint initiative with local communities, municipalities, and NGOs. The Southern Conchucos Polylepis Corridor will directly benefit 20 communities through employment, training, watershed management and human health by planting one million Polylepis trees. This is intended to improve habitat connectivity across 50,000 hectares between the protected Huascarán National Park and Huayhuash Reserve. The Polylepis forests and fauna they support are highly threatened as only 3% of the original forests remain today. The area surrounding Antamina is considered the highest priority for Polylepis conservation, which, along with two others in Peru and Bolivia, contain 48% of all threatened highland birds in the southern tropics.