From Pasture to Forest
Before (2017)
After (2025)
text and photos by Percy Leva,
Camino Verde La Joya reforestation coordinator
For the past eight years, I have been part of Camino Verde La Joya, a reforestation center dedicated to the production of native plant species in its tree nursery, with the primary objective of restoring areas that have been degraded by cattle ranching and agriculture. My work initially focused on the propagation of forestry seedlings and later on their transfer to the field.
Throughout these years, together with my fellow “Joyinos”, we have installed a growing number of agroforestry plots at the Camino Verde La Joya center. We designed and installed planting systems for terra firma areas, steep slopes, as well as lowland areas, where previously there were only grasslands with a few scattered guava (Psidium guajava) saplings struggling to grow.
I remember that, to install the first species, we had to open alleys through the Brachiaria grass, in very compacted, poor soil that had previously been used (and abused) for raising cattle. We planted hundreds of trees of different species, including medicinal, timber, fruit, and palm trees, among others. However, when the dry season came, with its intensely sunny days, many of these plants began to wither. The few that survived struggled to develop, which was not surprising given that the soil had a sandy texture with little or no organic matter.
With the arrival of the new rainy season, we continued both planting and replanting. This time, with the experience gained, we decided to plant fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing temporary trees from the Fabaceae family, such as species of the genus Inga and Flemingia. The objective was to generate shade to protect the small seedlings of other species, while at the same time producing mulch material through constant pruning to cover the soil, maintain humidity, and, over time, improve soil quality by incorporating organic matter.
Over the years, La Joya has been transformed. These soils, which once supported only grasses, have evolved into a more complex ecosystem, with trees of different species interacting with each other and forming diversified plant layers. This transformation has attracted more animals, and today, many of the species we planted are already producing fruits that serve as food for both wildlife and people. In addition, the seeds of these species allow us to continue producing more seedlings to further reforestation.
The presence of birds, monkeys, squirrels, armadillos, bees, butterflies, and other species has increased significantly. The recovery of the vegetation has created a suitable habitat for these animals, which now find in this forest a safe haven and a constant source of food.
Throughout this time, we have expanded our restoration efforts beyond just planting, incorporating the protection and promotion of pollinator biodiversity in the form of native bees. We started with a single box of Melipona eburnea, a stingless bee species, with the support and guidance of neighbor and specialist David Durán, who taught us the techniques for raising and managing these curious bees.
Little by little, we have successfully increased the number of hives through divisions and introduced new species of the Melipona genus, such as M. seminigra. Currently, we have 11 hives of M. eburnea, two hives of M. seminigra, and now also a two-story box with the classic Apis honey bees, which we were lucky enough to find on a tree branch near the nursery and successfully transfer to a box. In addition, we have wild Apis and Melipona nests in the forest understory and have even located ground-dwelling bees from the genus Geotrigona. Each time we stop to observe them, we see them returning to their hives laden with pollen.
Thanks to these native bees, we have increased pollination in the restored areas and made our agroforestry systems more resilient, thus ensuring forest regeneration.
A vigorous hive of Melipona seminigra stingless bees.
At the end of 2024, our assistant coordinator Abraham and I conducted an in-depth inventory of all the species established in the center’s plots. Although we have yet to record the species planted along the internal paths and around the nursery's perimeter – and excluding species that were always present in our remnant forest islands and in the understory – we identified an impressive total of over 200 different species of trees that we have planted to date.
These include timber trees such as lupuna, quinilla, shihuahuaco, azúcar huayo, ishpingo, quillobordón, pumaquiro, and castaña, among others.
We also registered fruit tree species such as moquete de tigre, pama, uvilla, shimbillo, ciruelo, marañón silvestre, lúcuma, marañón, huasai, and pijuayo.
Additionally, we included medicinal plants such as qori sacha, chiric sanango, huito, sangre de grado, copaiba, ajo sacha, clavo huasca, piñón, arco sacha, and cotton, among others. Finally, we recorded ornamentals such as clavija, croton, and palo bandera.
A living seed bank, indeed.
This inventory not only demonstrates the wide variety of plants and animals we have helped to establish as part of Camino Verde’s Living Seed Bank program, but also allows us to track our progress and ensure that the ecosystem continues to improve in diversity. As plants grow and animals return, this record helps us understand how the forest is changing, identify areas to continue enriching with more species, and plan future activities.
Reforestation, restoration, regeneration – even if these are ecological processes, they couldn’t occur without human action. Which is why, starting in 2023, La Joya is acting more than ever as an educational center, sharing the tools and knowledge we’ve gained over the years of restoration in action. Our internship program focuses on training local women in basic tree nursery management as well as planting and maintenance of reforestation areas. Thanks to support from the Open University (UK) and the Old Dart Foundation, so far we’ve held over 15 months of paid internships for women from the region who are eager to learn these important skills and put them into practice in their own farms and gardens.
Not everything has been easy in this process. As our tree seedlings were busy turning into a forest, the area around Camino Verde La Joya has gone from a sleepy rural area of overgrown cattle pastures to the city’s fastest growing sector, a bustling young neighborhood on the outskirts of Puerto Maldonado. The urban expansion has placed intense new pressure on wildlife in the area, and as such our center’s forest fragment acts more and more as a refuge for animals, plants, and fungi that are losing habitat all around us.
Throughout these years we have faced some significant challenges, such as fires set by neighbors, affecting some of our plantations and once even damaging the nursery structure. We have also dealt with attempted squatters’ invasions into the reforested areas, and long hot dry seasons that resulted in the loss of many important species. However, we have managed to overcome these obstacles by installing living fences of limoncillo trees (Swinglea sp.) along our borders and planting more trees of species that are better adapted to fire and dry conditions. In this way, we continue to protect the forest that we are recovering from these diverse threats.
Being part of this project has allowed me to witness how severely degraded land can indeed become a forest. I have learned reforestation techniques, soil management, and biodiversity conservation, as well as how to overcome obstacles, fostering creativity and resilience. I am proud to work with colleagues who share the same vision and to have played a role in this transformation, leaving a meaningful footprint for the future.
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Agroforestry education in action: tree nursery trainings at
Camino Verde La Joya in 2024 (photos by Juan Carlos Huayllapuma)
Percy Leva was part of the founding team at Camino Verde La Joya since the center’s inception in 2016. From the imperial city of Cusco, Percy has lived in Madre de Dios since 2000, where he studied forestry engineering at the UNAMAD University. He worked in the Ministry of Transport and on the construction of the Billinghurst Bridge before joining CV.
At Camino Verde La Joya forestry nursery, Percy has planted thousands of seedlings, representing hundreds of species of plants. Percy has coordinated the CV La Joya nursery since 2020, and undertook the role of lead reforestation impact officer for CV in 2022. He resides in Puerto Maldonado.