The long-term preservation of mountain forests in the Andes is important from a national and global perspective: forests store and purify water, provide firewood and building materials, reduce the risk of destructive natural events such as floods, and prevent soil erosion. They are also natural CO2 sinks that help to counter climate change.
At the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima in December 2014, the SDC launched the regional Andean Forest and Climate Change (ANFOR) project. The SDC is thereby contributing to the long-term protection of mountain forests. The seven Andean countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela – are participating in the project.