Conserving El Hornito, Ecotourism planning and a new Eco-School

Dry Forest Canoncillo (Image: Z Cruz, Oct 2021)

A Rocha Peru and local communities continue to protect and conserve the dry forests in Pacasmayo, La Libertad.  Over the last few months, the project has been working hard to protect remnant dry forests in El Hornito, planning for ecotourism, and creating a new Eco-School in Tecapa.

El Hornito is a new forest area of approximately 15 hectares that will be conserved and protected with the collaboration of the local community.  The team has toured and analyzed the forest area. They determined that the conservation of the forest is being affected by cattle grazing, local logging, and carob charcoal production. In August, a flora inventory was conducted and it identified a richness of 6 species including 4 botanical families, with the Algarrobo species dominating.  Furthermore, a talk was given to the local community of Hornito about solid waste management, its classification, and its importance.

Ecotourism Meeting (Image: Sept 2021)

The project continues to work towards the development of ecotourism within the project’s area of influence.  The project met with the General Manager of Tourism of the Municipality of San Pedro de Lloc to collaborate on the development of an ecotourism plan.   A Rocha Peru participated in a workshop carried out by the school of Tourism of the National University of Trujillo.  A small participative diagnosis was developed regarding tourism in San Pedro de Lloc.  Two interviews with Jaime Gavidia and Ivas Grados Mostacero were also conducted to gather information about local myths and legends in order to make tourist brochures.

Eco-School Tecapa (Image: Sept 2021)

Another important achievement over the last month has been the establishment of an Eco-School within the Tecapa secondary school.  The Eco-School will develop environmental awareness amongst its students by conducting environmental talks and gardening.  Veterinarian Alejandro Pereda, Coordinator of the NGO Dryforest Conservation Programme (DRYCOP), gave a talk to students about the interaction between domestic animals and the fauna found in the Private Conservation Area El Cañoncillo.  He also talked about the disappearance of the dry forest and how it affects the communities and their agriculture.  In September, 6 workshops were conducted in the Mi Mundo y Yo Eco-School covering topics such as medicinal plants, composting and its importance; the preparation of land for planting vegetables, the preparation of furrows, and irrigation for planting vegetables, and more.

As you can see, it’s been a busy few months and we look forward to sharing with your more achievements soon!