How the purchase of a plot of land on Panama's coast set a surfer on a journey towards reforestation.
Javier Lijo chose the plot of land for the waves nearby but he soon got to work improving itWhen Javier Lijo bought nine acres of deforested land atop a Panamanian island, he had an eye on the waves below.
To the uninformed, his land looks wild. But much of it is farmed: one part has timber trees for making furniture, in another cacao trees for chocolate, near the top a garden for herbs, and everywhere throughout the forest a variety of fruit, vegetables and flowers.Cocoa is just one of the many things Javier Lijo grows on his eco farm
First he had to learn the basics, and for that, he turned to the indigenous people who have been managing Panama's forests for centuries.Mr Lijo first met 53-year-old Benjamín Aguilar in 2000 when he asked him for help cutting trees on the farm.Soon Mr Aguilar was advising him on how to manage the land, what to plant, and what trees to use for timber.
One of the world's foremost tropical biology research institutes, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , runs several projects in which its scientists work alongside indigenous peoples. Indigenous land management also provides "green infrastructure" that can protect the environment, such as soil in intact forests which can absorb water to prevent flooding and release it during the dry season to prevent droughts.
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