Peru is a country in western South America. It borders Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Peru is an extremely biodiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains vertically extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon Basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon river. The combination of tropical latitude, mountain ranges, topography variations, and two ocean currents (Humboldt and El Niño) gives Peru a large diversity of climates. Because of its varied geography and climate, Peru has a high biodiversity with 21,462 species of plants and animals reported as of 2003, 5,855 of them endemic.
Quick Facts
Land use
Total land area
128,000,000 hectares
Area of forest
57.8% of land area
Area of agriculture
19.0% of land area
Area of permanent cropland
1.1% of land area
People
Population growth
1.3% annually
Economics and development
GDP from agriculture
7.2%
GDP per person
6121.90 USD
Climate change and biodiversity
CO2 emissions
1.90 metric tonnes per person
Threatened animal and plant species
683
Bonn Challenge Commitments
Area committed
3,200,000 hectares
Potential economic benefit
1,005 million USD
Potential climate benefit
0.30 GtCO2 sequestered
Main forest types
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Temperate coniferous forest
In December of 2014 Peru announced forest landscape restoration and conservation commitments to Initiative 20x20 at a side event to the 20th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Lima, Peru. 3.2 million hectares of restoration from these commitments are formal contributions to the Bonn Challenge goal.
National Restoration Targets
Total restoration target 1,788,000 hectares
National Forest and/or Climate Strategy and/or Low Carbon Development Strategy
Restoration target
1,774,000 hectares
Plan Nacional de Reforestacion (in Spanish) (2005)
Program 1: Commercial/Industrial forest plantations
Goals: by 2024 = 864,500 ha plantations (p. 41)
584,000 ha Silviculture (Listed as Macizos which is roughly a ‘massive forest plantation’)
280,500 ha agroforestry
Finance: Using private investment and tax incentives and debt swaps = $853 million
Program 2: Forest Plantations for environmental protection and watershed management
13.5 million ha classified as potential for protection/watershed management (p. 28)
Goals: by 2024 = 909,500 ha plantations (p. 30)
629,000 ha Silviculture
280,500 ha agroforestry
Finance: Using public investment and international cooperation and debt swaps = $688 million
National Environmental Policy (2009)
Promote organic and ecological agriculture, agroforestry, and aqua- culture in accordance with bio-commerce criteria, while promoting the joint action of productive chains and the active participation of local communities (p. 18).
Conserve and increase the coverage of wooded areas, thus increasing biodiversity and environmental services, and enhancing the productive capacities of the ecosystems (p. 20)
Promote reforestation of degraded areas with native timber-yielding species, those with greater potential to provide environmental services as well as those with economic potential to contribute to the develop- ment and promotion of public and private investment (p. 20).
Plan Nacional de Accion Ambiental 2011-2021 (in Spanish) (2011)
Strategy Action 4.2: Promote Afforestation/Reforestation (p. 22)
2017 Goal: Afforestation/Reforestation in 50 percent of priority zones
2021 Goal: Afforestation/Reforestation in 100 percent of priority zones
Indicator: Number of hectares under Afforestation/Reforestation
Forest Investment Program (FIP)
Forest Investment Program: Peru
Many of the projects aim to enhance the value of the environmental assets of forests and degraded areas in the project intervention area but do not specify area (ha) of enhancement. Focus is on policy and other enabling conditions for REDD+.
Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects
Restoration target
14,000 hectares
FLR Assessments
Content not yet available.
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