section_path: Human activity/Accion Andina's reforestation plan
section_name: Accion Andina's reforestation plan
paragraph_text: Accion Andina's reforestation plan
  
  Depending on the country, this species goes by different names. In Peru, it is known as queñual, queuña, or queñoa; in Bolivia, as kewiña; in Ecuador, as yagual; and in Argentina, tabaquillo. Regardless of the name, Polylepis is a high-Andean genus encompassing up to 45 species of trees and shrubs distributed across the South American Andes, from Venezuela to Patagonia, found up to 5,000 meters above sea level.
  
  In 2000, biologist Constantino Aucca founded Ecoan, an NGO promoting conservation of threatened species and endangered Andean ecosystems. Since then, the organization has reforested 4.5 million plants across 16 protected areas, involving 37 Andean communities in the process.
  
  Aucca's efforts caught the attention of Florent Kaiser, a Franco-German forest engineer. During a visit to Peru in 2018, Aucca invited Kaiser to the Queuña Raymi festival, where Cusco communities engage in queñual reforestation.