During the 2024-25 fiscal year, Global Forest Generation deepened its impact and reach. Despite a challenging fundraising climate, we strategically expanded our focus to include water security, restoring wetlands alongside forest ecosystems. We established a Visionary Council to guide our long-term efforts, launched an interactive map to transparently track our restoration progress, and worked with our co-lead Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) to further scale our Andes-wide initiative, Acción Andina. Explore how we’re growing a movement for resilient ecosystems and communities.
Message from the
CEO: A New Model
for Restoration
Join Global Forest Generation CEO and Acción Andina Co-lead Florent Kaiser at the southern tip of South America as he reflects on the extraordinary year we’ve had this year. In this short message, Florent shares how we’re expanding our vision from planting trees to restoring entire ecosystems and protecting water at scale, and explains why local leadership and regional solutions are key to the future of the Andes. We’re so thankful to have you along with us!
Message from
the Co-founder
GFG was born from the belief that hope is an action, not a feeling, and that restoring our forests and our faith in the future go hand in hand.” Leslie Danoff
Our Proven Model: Four Pillars of Holistic Restoration
Meet the People Behind the Movement
Photos by Global Forest Generation, ECOAN, and Michell León Fotografía y Naturaleza
Our Growth and
Evolution Over Time
Every year, we share remarkable progress across the Andes, but the true power of Global Forest Generation lies beneath the surface. GFG builds the strategy, systems, and support that help Acción Andina grow stronger each season. By elevating local leadership, strengthening data and finance systems, and fostering long-term collaboration, we’ve helped turn a regional restoration effort into a global model for change. As the initiative continues to expand across the Andes and inspire restoration worldwide, GFG remains the connective force, ensuring this movement thrives for generations to come.
Our Key Metrics
Demystifying the Science
Some of the topics we discuss at GFG can get pretty technical, like Polylepis genus or “water security.” We get it.
That’s why we’ve created a series of visual explainers designed to demystify the science behind the native tree species that communities grow and plant, local biodiversity, and freshwater resources in the Andes.
Explore now.
Photos by ECOAN, Adobe Stock, and Tim J. Hopwood
Acción Andina is a movement to restore the vital forest ecosystems of the Andes, directly impacting the lives of thousands of local communities across South America. Together with our co-lead Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) and local conservation leaders, we have planted millions of trees, safeguarded critical water resources, and strengthened community-led efforts to manage landscapes long-term. By incorporating traditional ecological knowledge with cutting-edge science, Acción Andina is setting a new standard for large-scale restoration.
Meet Our Partners
Acción Andina is restoring and conserving high-Andean ecosystems across six countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
16 local partners make up the Acción Andina initiative. While local partners primarily focus on regenerating high-Andean ecosystems and watersheds, Acción Andina also supports water and irrigation projects, microenterprise development, trainings for local leaders, and other community requests. Ancestral principles are woven into Acción Andina’s holistic approach, contributing to the preservation of ancient cultures and traditions.
Acción Andina by the Numbers: 2024-25 Season
Note: The Acción Andina season runs for 15 months, from January to the following March. Data here reflect the season and not the fiscal year.
Acción Andina Water Impact
New Partnerships, New Possibilities
Our work expanded into new territory this year with the launch of our partnership with Fundación Ecotropics Colombia, based in Urrao, Antioquía. This brand new relationship also marks a major milestone — our first partner in Colombia! Led by professional scientists with backgrounds in agriculture, sustainable development, and ecosystem restoration, the project focuses on restoring the rare Polylepis frontinensis tree and protecting critical habitat for vulnerable species like the Spectacled Bear.
Another new partner we’re proud to welcome to the Acción Andina initiative is PROMETA (Tarija Environmental Protection). Since its founding in 1990, this Bolivian NGO has helped establish over 1.8 million hectares of conservation areas across six of Bolivia’s seven ecoregions. PROMETA’s contributions to the Acción Andina project will include creating a new 30,000-hectare protected area and planting 15,000 native trees.
To read more about Acción Andina’s progress and impact:
This year has been monumental in terms of our growth and impact, and we’re so grateful that you could be a part of it!
From laying the groundwork for a pioneering water impact monitoring framework, to publishing an interactive
restoration map that enhances our Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) process, to developing Acción Andina’s five-year plan, to developing a long-term financing strategy, we’ve made significant strides.
We’re thrilled to be sharing our progress with you all, and we hope you will continue to support us on this journey.
Envisioning the Future of our Andean Restoration Initiative: Scaling for Water Security
This year, Global Forest Generation and our lead implementing partner ECOAN collaborated with directors of Acción Andina’s partner organizations to chart the next chapter of our restoration initiative in the Andes. Building on lessons from the first six years, we began shaping a 2025–2030 Strategic Plan for Acción Andina Phase 2 to further scale restoration efforts, combining long-term vision with the tools to deliver. The directors gathered during a pivotal three-day summit to share lessons learned and co-create priorities for the next phase, including scaling impact without compromising local roots, expanding long-term restoration and conservation efforts, improving on-the-ground tracking of restoration and conservation activities, and establishing methods for water monitoring. We will keep you all up to date as we launch this new chapter. Until then, read on for more stories and updates.
Restoring Forests, Securing Water
First Results from Acción Andina’s Water Impact Monitoring Framework
Climate change is progressing faster than the Andes is equipped to handle, with melting glaciers posing a threat to the water security of vibrant ecosystems and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods. Motivated by the urgency of this crisis, Global Forest Generation launched a Water Impact Monitoring Framework (WIMF) for Acción Andina last year, filling in knowledge gaps about how high-altitude reforestation improves water retention and protects against drought. This year, we were able to report on initial findings from pilot projects in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Key findings include:
In these three Andean regions, forest restoration improved watershed function, supporting both local biodiversity and downstream water users.
The societal and economic benefits analysis found that every US$ 1 invested in Acción Andina’s restoration efforts generates an average of US$ 3.53 in social value, ensuring high-impact, cost-effective conservation.
Over 200 local communities have directly benefited from Acción Andina’s work in these pilot projects, with increased opportunities in sustainable land management and ecological restoration.
Global Forest Generation is building on these pilot findings to scale its impact in 2026, using tools such as drones and satellite data to improve real-time monitoring and guide future decisions across more restoration sites.
Discover more about this framework in our Briefing Document.
Welcoming Bold Thinkers to Help Shape GFG’s Next Chapter
Restoring ecosystems across vast regions and generations often calls for bold vision and diverse expertise. To help guide our next phase of growth, Global Forest Generation launched a Visionary Council: a trusted circle of thought partners bringing deep experience in storytelling, brand building, regeneration finance, and more.
This Council brings big-picture thinking and entrepreneurial insight to support our most ambitious goals, including growing Acción Andina into a century-long movement, launching future restoration initiatives around the world, and inspiring global momentum for ecological renewal.
Introducing
Our Impact Map
We could not be more excited about the official launch of our new interactive mapping tool designed to bring Acción Andina’s impact to life. Driven by the need to improve our Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) process, this tool illustrates the growth and scale of the work that brings thousands of people together to restore the world’s highest-elevation native forests.
What are some of the things you can do
with our Impact Map?
Explore where restoration is happening — country by country
See data on hectares restored and conserved, number of trees planted, and types of native tree species planted
Learn about each local project, led by Indigenous and local partners
Track our verified progress across a region critically impacted by climate change
Financing the Future of the Andes
Creative, Realistic, and Rooted in Place
At Global Forest Generation, we recognize that the restoration of a million hectares of high-Andean forests is both an ecological and financial challenge. While passion and partnerships have been instrumental in our progress, sustaining this movement for decades requires an equally ambitious undertaking: a robust financial strategy grounded in practicality.
What does it take to fund restoration for the long haul?
Even with a challenging fundraising environment, Global Forest Generation had many opportunities to tell our story and expand our reach! Follow along to see our CEO in action, celebrate our important milestones, and watch a video that may be new to you. Thank you for supporting our work to restore some of the most vital and endangered ecosystems in the world.
Our CEO in Action
Rewilding the Andes: Florent Kaiser on Restoring a Continent’s Lifeline
Have you listened to our episode on the Rewilding the World podcast? In November 2024, Ben Goldsmith interviewed GFG’s CEO and Acción Andina Co-lead Florent Kaiser to discuss the Earthshot Prize-winning initiative. Ben interviews people who advocate for nature and help to restore habitats and wildlife in some of the most depleted parts of the planet. We were so excited that he invited Florent to join him in an episode to talk about restoring the Andes!
Listen now to hear more perspectives like this:
“If you look at restoring the whole Andes, the entire Andean mountain range, you can’t just go at it by planting trees. There are so many other things that you need to do to holistically permit nature to actually come back.”
Global Forest Generation at Change NOW: Scaling Community-Led Restoration
ChangeNOW is the world’s largest event for climate solutions. This year, climate leaders from 58 countries explored strategies to mitigate climate change. With 380 exhibitions and 130 investor and policymaker pitches, the conference showcased 1,000 concrete solutions across energy, regenerative agriculture, circular economy, sustainable mobility, and biodiversity.
CEO Florent Kaiser delivered a keynote for the ChangeNOW 2025 conference in Paris in the Ocean & Water category, titled, “Securing Our Water Future: Strategies for Water Stewardship.” He highlighted how Acción Andina restores native Polylepis forests to improve watershed health for 90 million people. Key points included the importance of local leadership, ancestral knowledge, and holistic restoration as a deeply human solution. Watch his full talk below.
Media Highlights from a Transformative Year
In case you missed it, Global Forest Generation issued two major press releases for the year, both marking major milestones for our restoration initiative, Acción Andina. The first celebrates the roughly 800 participants from the Peruvian community of Aquia who planted a record-smashing 150,000 native Polylepis trees in a single day. In the second, we announce a new partnership model with sustainable apparel brand Textil del Valle to implement a holistic water management effort in the dry Chincha Valley of Peru. Both efforts are part of our strategy to gain awareness and eventual action for the Andean region and ensure communities and industries have access to reliable water.
New Video:
Inside Ecuador’s
High-Altitude Forests
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth even more!
In this new G20 Land Initiative video, get a glimpse inside Ecuador’s high-altitude forests that protect the glacial water supply. The video explains the substantial melting of the Chimborazo glacier — a tremendous and growing threat to local water supplies. The local voices in the video describe how the glacier has receded over 600 meters in their lifetime, losing more than half its snow. Droughts lasting 70–80 days are becoming more and more common, which is why Polylepis reforestation efforts in the region are so important to replenish local water supply. But the restoration project transcends environmental action. Combining ancestral practices with science is the best chance for the Andes to mitigate these challenges. The successes shared in the video portray just that. The methods in practice in Chimborazo today come from Incan agricultural wisdom. We have to think beyond innovation and reconnect with what has always worked in the region. President of Acción Andina and Co-founder of ECOAN Constantino Aucca Chutas will take you through Chimborazo National Park, where he’s leading momentous efforts with local partner Andean Adventures to reforest the landscape and ensure water security for future generations. Tino’s motto? “Planting trees is planting hope.”
Click. Explore. Restore.
Our New Website is Here!
Thanks to Elevation, GFG overhauled its website — design, content and all.
If you haven’t already, take a moment to explore:
- More dynamic content
- The distinction between GFG and Acción Andina
- Expanded resources
- A streamlined donation experience
- Future-ready architecture designed
- Regularly updated impact metrics
- Enhanced performance and accessibility
Telling our Story with Donors
This year has been inspiring in building GFG’s relationship with our partners, and we were pleased to be featured in stories published by the Avery Dennison Foundation, Mastercard, and Google (Arts and Culture).
Acción Andina’s restoration efforts across South America were spotlighted this year as part of the Priceless Planet Coalition (PPC), a partnership between Mastercard, Conservation International, and the World Resources Institute that aims to rehabilitate 100 million trees worldwide. Global Forest Generation was thrilled when Acción Andina was selected as one of the latest restoration projects in October 2024, demonstrating our shared commitment to sustainable impact. By the end of 2024, five local partners working across 11 Acción Andina projects had planted a total of 579,306 trees as part of the PPC. This collaborative effort is well timed, as the Andes has lost 95% of its native forests and up to 50% of its glaciers. While the climate crisis is progressing at such a rapid pace, this is not a new challenge for the Andes region. As President of Acción Andina and Co-founder of ECOAN Constantino Aucca Chutas says, “A thousand years ago we were once part of the magnificent Inca Empire, which also suffered climate change. They planted millions of trees to manage the weather. We did it then by working together for a common goal.”
With the Avery Dennison Foundation, we celebrated Earth Day by sharing how we are using their support for good with Acción Andina. This initiative coincides with ADF’s Environmental Sustainability pillar, which aims to improve environmental sustainability by funding efforts that uphold climate resilience, mitigation and adaptation. The feature story describes Acción Andina’s success in reforesting more than 12 million native trees in high-altitudes while providing local communities with holistic training that blends modern techniques with ancestral Incan knowledge, restoring both ecosystems and cultural heritage. Kathleen McGibbon, GFG’s development officer remarks, “Receiving the ADF grant has been incredibly meaningful for Acción Andina. The grant has helped provide essential resources for seedling production, tree planting, and long-term forest protection, benefiting the environment and those who depend on these ecosystems.”
Google Arts and Culture published an incredible exhibition titled World Wide Wood that amplifies the impact of 113 tree partners from 32 countries that work to restore trees for biodiversity, climate resilience, cultural identity, and community wellbeing. The Polylepis tree was just one of many included in this highly interactive collection of stories. The article recounts the journey of an Indigenous-led reforestation festival, Queuña Raymi, which originated in Peru, but is now celebrated in other parts of the Andes. This celebration is centered around ancestral traditions of reciprocity (Ayni) and communal service (Minka), where communities gather every year to plant thousands of native trees in a single day. World Wide Wood uses vivid storytelling and compelling photography and video that invites readers to participate in the beauty of Queuña Raymi and meet the communities behind the work from a digital perspective. We are so grateful to be a part of World Wide Wood so that we can share our message with a global audience to raise awareness about the role that native forests and Indigenous stewardship should play in achieving climate security.
Our Enduring Partners and Supporters
We’re proud to recognize the partners who have stood with us for at least five years, a testament to the trust, shared purpose and long-term commitment that drive lasting restoration.
Organizations
The 2025 United Nations’ International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation effort highlights the urgent threat to Andean water security, where glaciers melt 35% faster than the global average. At Global Forest Generation, we advocate for action on this crisis while supporting local leaders like Beatriz Gutiérrez, whose reforestation work in Potrero de Yala (Argentina) shows how communities can protect watersheds and secure water for future generations.
Water Insecurity and Glacier Loss
2025 has been declared the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation by the United Nations. It acts as a critical reminder of how vital glaciers are for water security and biodiversity. Glaciers are like natural water towers, providing drinking water, irrigation, and energy to millions of people. In the Andes, they support over 90 million people, but they are melting 35% faster than the global average. This puts communities, farms, and power supplies at serious risk, threatening livelihoods across South America.
At Global Forest Generation, protecting glaciers and their watersheds is central to our mission. By safeguarding these natural water sources and promoting sustainable ecosystems, we aim to help communities adapt to the climate crisis and preserve life-giving water for future generations. The time to act is now.
Looking Ahead
Turning Opportunities into Pathways for Impact
While we are proud to share our progress, we are equally committed to being transparent about the challenges ahead. Climate change remains one of the most pressing: prolonged droughts can delay rain, postpone reforestation campaigns, and reduce survival rates. We also face capacity gaps, funding challenges, and missing data that limit our ability to guide long-term strategies with precision.
To address these challenges and strengthen our impact, we are prioritizing:
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Advancing our Water Impact Monitoring Framework across all sites to better understand how restoration influences water resources initiative-wide.
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Expanding social metrics in our Measurement, Reporting, and Verification systems — tracking community participation, women’s involvement, and aggregated socio-economic benefits.
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Scaling wetland and peatland restoration to complement reforestation and deliver more immediate water security benefits.
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Establishing an in-region financial hub to streamline fundraising and the distribution of conservation funds.
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Mapping critical water recharge zones and aligning restoration priorities with at-risk water sources.
By tackling these priorities head-on, we aim to deepen the ecological, social, and economic benefits of our work across the Andes.
Community Spotlight
Beatriz Gutiérrez
Beatriz Gutiérrez joined the Potrero de Yala reforestation project in Argentina last season and quickly became a key leader. She manages the production of native Polylepis and Alnus acuminata (Andean alder) seedlings and encourages local residents to participate in nursery and reforestation activities.
Together with her brother, Santos, she inspects and maintains fences protecting reforested areas, ensuring young trees thrive. Supported by agronomy students like Gastón Aprile, Beatriz helps bridge the project with the local community.
This season, the team achieved a strong seed harvest and high germination rates, sustaining reforestation efforts. Beatriz’s dedication and ability to mobilize neighbors show how local leadership can drive meaningful restoration and protect vital ecosystems.
The Promise of the Mortiño
Sometimes the smallest of species can have the biggest impact on an ecosystem. The mortiño, a native Andean blueberry, is a cornerstone of both biodiversity and culture in the Andean highlands of Ecuador. With rising demand for this wild berry, Francisco Tobar, a leader with Acción Andina conservation partner Aves y Conservación, has been working with local communities to grow mortiño under nursery conditions — a challenging long-term effort, but with the potential to help conserve ecosystems and provide economic benefits to mountain communities. But climate change is taking a toll. Since the mortiño requires consistent, moderate moisture, ongoing drought in Ecuador may disrupt fruit development. And recent interest from urban dwellers in harvesting mortiño adds further pressure, prompting discussions around legal protections to ensure the plant is collected responsibly and equitably.
Despite these barriers, Francisco remains optimistic about the promise of domesticating the mortiño: “The mortiño represents possibility,” he says. “If we do this right, it can reconnect people with their culture, protect fragile ecosystems, and offer real economic alternatives in the high Andes.”
Restoring Water, Together
In 2025, Global Forest Generation with lead implementing partner ECOAN launched an innovative partnership with sustainable textile leader Textil del Valle — supported by Patagonia and Lacoste — to restore wetlands, peatlands, and native forests in Peru’s Chincha Watershed. By combining long-term reforestation with faster-impact interventions in wetlands and peatlands, the project is securing water supplies for people, industry, and ecosystems alike. This integrated approach offers a powerful blueprint for water security in other vulnerable regions, demonstrating how the private sector is not only funding but actively shaping restoration activities alongside local communities.
Why Forest Protection Matters
Protecting remaining ecosystems before we lose them is the fastest and most cost-effective way to preserve biodiversity and maintain ecological balance. For our restoration initiative, Acción Andina, safeguarding the remaining 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of native high-Andean Polylepis forests has always been a top priority. Thanks to new funding from Milkywire, we’ve been able to expand this work, although the need is far greater.