Peru is a megadiverse country. Almost 58 percent of the national territory is covered by forests, of which 95 percent are located in the Amazon region. The deforestation rate in the Amazon region in the last decade has been approximately 120 000 hectares (ha) per year. Previously, this was mostly due to smallholders migrating from the mountains, although in recent years the rate has risen to over 160 000 ha per year, mainly because of the increase in crops such as coffee, cocoa and palm oil. A total of 8 to 9 million ha have so far been deforested in the Amazon region.

The Peruvian Amazon and its forests are home to an indigenous population of more than 300 000 people from 48 different ethnic groups and there are around 8 million ha of degraded land that could be restored. Given the steep slopes of the mountains, this region has a tradition in agroforestry under a variety of family agroforestry systems, depending on the altitudinal range and including the use of terraces and native trees. The coastal area, a desert strip crossed by narrow valleys, has lost more than 300 000 ha due to soil salinization, because of excessive use of water in rice crops.

Key achievements from 2016 to 2018

• support the process of mapping potential areas for restoration in Peru;
• establish appropriate forest and landscape restoration (FLR) actions in two pilot sites with potential for scaling-up;
• promote strategic and innovative activities of potential impact for FLR; and
• complete the process of elaboration, consultation, validation and publication of the Nation Program for Degraded Land Recovery.