Study shows: trees may triple availability of water in Bolivia

Water shortages are a daily reality in the Bolivian Andes. That is why Trees for All is committed to reforestation here, working together with local partners and communities. And the impact is highly promising! A recent study shows that reforestation enables the soil can retain on average three times more water over a ten-year periode. An increase of 300%! This means more water, more food and a safer environment for people who live here.

Fewer trees, more drought

The Bolivian Andes have been becoming increasingly drier for years. Many native trees and shrubs have disappeared. For this reason, the soil can hardly hold any rainwater and people in the region suffer from water shortages.

Climate change aggravates this problem. The region has little precipitation. And when it does rain, the water often runs downhill immediately, which leads to mudflows and erosion. This has large consequences for local communities – which make a living from mainly agriculture. Less water, namely, leads to less fertile soil and therefore to less food and certainty.

Trees as a source of water, food and life

Fortunately, there is hope: in the form of trees. By means of their roots, trees keep the soil together, as it were. They create a strong, airy soil, which is better able to absorb and hold rainwater. And such fertile soil forms the basis for food production.

How large is the effect of trees on the availability of water exactly? BioGrowth Development examined it in a 300-hectare area where Trees for All plants trees. The consultancy analyzed countless data about precipitation, landscape, soil and plantation. With promising conclusions!

Hope already visible

The impact of reforestation is evident not only in the figures, but also in the field. In the past few years, we have been able to plant nearly 300,000 trees across the Bolivian Andes, thanks to our donors. Such in cooperation with our partner Samay Foundation, which in turn cooperates with local communities that plant and maintain the trees. They see the landscape change, slowly but surely, and watch the water return.

More water and food

A part of the trees grows in so-called infiltration areas, where rainwater falls naturally. Thanks to the trees, rainwater is better able to infiltrate into the soil. Next, it flows below the surface to water reservoirs which local communities have constructed themselves. They use this water for irrigating their agricultural crops, for example.

The people also get support at their switch to agroforestry. Farmers’ families learn how they may grow other crops among the (fruit) trees, such as vegetables, fruit and legumes. The result is soil which regenerates, water that flows slowly through the area an young trees full of fruit.

The power of trees

Our practical experience and the study show how enormously powerful reforestation is. Not only for restoring nature, but also for investing in water certainty, food certainty and safe surroundings for people. For that reason, we want to help more communities in Bolivia plant trees in the next few years. Would you like to contribute? Your donation grows trees and brings the water back!