Azuero

Located in Los Santos province in Panama, the Ganadería y Bosques (GANBOS) Azuero project addresses decades of environmental degradation caused by the conversion of Neotropical Seasonally Dry Forests (NSDFs) into cattle grazing land. Once rich in endemic biodiversity, the region’s Arco Seco (Dry Arc) now faces increased vulnerability to climate change and biodiversity loss due to forest fragmentation and habitat loss.

To restore critical ecosystem services, enhance agricultural productivity, and boost carbon sequestration, the project will combine large-scale native forest restoration with the implementation of rotational grazing systems on degraded pastures. Within a total landscape of 397,556 hectares, GANBOS will focus on 20,000 hectares for direct intervention. Approximately 6,000 hectares will be reforested, while the remaining 14,000 hectares will transition to rotational grazing.

Over its 40-year lifespan, GANBOS is projected to remove more than 4 million tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere through increased above- and below-ground biomass and improved soil organic carbon (SOC).

The project is built around three core interventions: (1) Native Ecosystem Restoration, (2) Rotational Grazing, and (3) a Community Development Strategy (CDS) paired with a Sustainable Business & Livelihood Fund (SBLF). This integrated approach ensures long-term environmental impact while addressing the socio-economic drivers of land degradation and positioning local communities as primary beneficiaries.