Q&A - EP3

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Meet the Ecopreneur:

Q: Why are you personally passionate about fighting climate change? A: I’m from a family that goes back to the founding of the Inca empire. I learned from the scientific research that I did with Cambridge University that the Incas had a history of finding solutions for climate change. Back in 500 A.D., they went up into the mountains looking for better conditions. When they arrived, they started to build aqueducts to provide water. They started to build terraces for better agriculture. They started to do some restoration on the highlands. I’m working to recover all this ancient knowledge and put it into practice.

In 2018, with the support of the nonprofit Global Forest Generation (GFG), Aucca expanded his mission through a first-of-its-kind initiative named Acción Andina. Joined by the cofounders of GFG, long-term friends and conservationists, and fellow ecopreneur and now CEO of GFG, Florent Kaiser, he was able to grow and scale his community restoration model to protect ecosystems across the Andes of South America, including Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Since their work began Indigenous communities in the region have successfully planted more than 3.7 million native trees and protected thousands of hectares of native Andean forests—all while fostering climate resilience, water security, and enhancing community livelihoods. Still, the impact of Aucca’s work with Kaiser and GFG extends beyond the land, as he actively fights to end racism and discrimination against Indigenous people and prove that multicultural partnerships will be critical in tackling the world’s biggest conservation challenges. To learn more about his journey as an Ecopreneur, we sat down with Aucca in Peru.

Q: Can you talk about the disconnect you see between climate research and action? A: When professionals travel for research, they often have contact with the locals. But they don’t spend time talking with them, to hear the needs that they have. People point to humans as the main problem for the environment, for Mother Earth. But they are not working with humans to solve the problem. In 2014, I didn’t see any concrete actions being taken to try to fight climate change. So I went back to Cusco to convince my partners to send a message, and our message was to plant more than 57,000 trees in a single day. In 2018, more partners came with another, bigger vision and pushed me to increase this activity along the Andes. Now we are growing more and more, protecting and saving all the highland forests.

Q: How did the idea for Acción Andina come about? A: In the ’80s, I met my mentor, Dr. Jon Fjeldså, while doing research along the Andes. After three months of studying Polylepis forests and getting to know the problems of the highlanders, he told me, “Tino, if nobody’s going to do something for this forest, it’s going to be a big mess. You must do something.” At the time, I was a student. I was dreaming of getting a master’s degree, a Ph.D., but my mentor gave me this challenge, and I accepted. It was hard. I faced a lot of discrimination, because I am Indigenous, but I knew I was the one who could make this movement happen, because of my connection to the local communities.

Q: What or who informed your business model? How is your business model unique? A: When we started to think about the fight against climate change, we knew we needed big action. Restoration needs a lot of people. We learned that the Incas had this magnificent culture of practicing Minka, meaning the communal work where everybody comes together for a common goal. Today, we bring together more than 15,000 people from local communities. And this is just the beginning.

Q: What is Acción Andina’s mission? A: Acción Andina wants to scale with a large restoration program along the Andes with different types of partners. For that reason, we focus on our mission. First, to protect, restore and save the native forest and the ecosystems of the highlands in the long term. Second, to involve the social economy, that means local communities, local stake holders, and local partners, giving them the possibility to be part of this revolution. Third, to train local leaders who are experts on conservation and restoration to become better leaders and be able to build and manage the types of projects we need in the Andes, and globally, to restore the Earth. Fourth, to partner with sustainable programs in water services, carbon sequestration, and ecological services and ultimately also governments to adopt, recognize and further support our efforts. And, of course, preserving the local heritage and culture. This is not just a bonus, this is a fundamental aspect of our work that supports everything we do.

Q: What challenges did you face when you were starting out? A: It was hard. There was a lot of suffering. A lot of discrimination, because being an Indian descendant and Indigenous, to be a conservation leader is something that is not acceptable. When we started ECOAN in 2000, we decided to do something, to work to solve the problem of climate change. But all the conservation groups were convinced that creating only protected areas, creating conservation corridors and hotspots, was going to be the solution. Forget it. I traveled a lot, looking for money. When I gave my speech in the United States and Europe, I said, “The solution is to work with the humans from the region. To get them to be part of the solution. Engage them to be allies.” For the first three years, they told me, “Don Tino, this is not a beneficiary thing. Conservation is not that.” I said, “Sorry. If you don’t believe in what I’m trying to tell you, please understand, we will someday be the solution. And now is your opportunity to spend your money much better.” Happily, international institutions started to believe in us: first the American Bird Conservancy and Conservation International, and then later the Global Forest Generation, who truly brought us to another level. They received the challenge and they said, “We are with you. We believe in you.” That is what leaders are trying to find: perfect allies. We need a family. We need brothers. We need friends. We don’t need donors or institutions who are going to push you to do something that is not going to work.

Q: How does SeaTrees leverage the power of business and brand partnerships to accelerate change?

Q: You’ve worked with many consumer product brands to look at the impacts of their products. How have you noticed companies shifting their approach to sustainability?

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Tino Aucca of Acción Andina

This restoration organization is using the power of community and Indigenous traditions to protect the land and people of Peru. For the past two decades, Constantino (Tino) Aucca and his partners have been helping communities in the Andes restore and protect the area’s native forests. Born in Cusco, Peru, Aucca’s conservation journey began as a biology student at the University of Cusco, working as a field assistant in the country’s sprawling mountain ranges in the late ’80s. After years of being immersed in the lush forests and wetlands of the region, Aucca felt personally moved to protect his homeland. Inspired by his Indigenous heritage and the tree-planting traditions practiced by Inca descendants in the Andes, Aucca and other local colleagues founded ECOAN, a nonprofit NGO dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and threatened Andean ecosystems, in 2000, with a focus on working with local communities to plant the native Polylepis tree species.

15K

PEOPLE ACTIVELY WORKING IN RESTORATION ACROSS THE ANDES

Q: When you launched SeaTrees, you wanted to get brands and individuals involved. How did that differentiate your organization from others in the ocean activism space?

Eco•pre•neur: an environmentally minded entrepreneur who leads and drives climate action worldwide

Listen to Tino on his Inca heritage.

Listen to Tino on working with Indigenous communities.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about how Acción Andina impacts communities under hardship? A: Acción Andina provides jobs, expertise, and support to the local communities. They feel that with Acción Andina, they can go farther, because they see that we’re not an angel that’s going to appear for only one or two years. These people see us as a family. For 22 years, we have been living with them, working with them, and not failing on our commitments. And I’m planning to continue being with them for the next 20 years.

Q: How does Acción Andina combat climate change? A: Part of Acción Andina’s mission is to protect and manage the highland forests, plus the highland ecosystems, and help people in local communities adapt to climate change in the long term. We modeled ourselves after ancient Andean Cultures, learning from the Incas how they addressed the problems of climate change. We are convinced that [by] planting massive native plants we will tackle these problems, and [the local] people will learn to do what is needed, reducing the threats to Mother Earth.

Q: What have you managed to accomplish so far? A: In 2018, we started Acción Andina with the support of GFG. Today, we have 15 local partners, work with hundreds of local communities, and involve more than 15,000 people actively in restoration work across 5 countries in the Andes. We have helped to reforest more than 3.7million native trees and advance forest protection. But this is just the beginning. Acción Andina is growing into a large-scale movement. More and more local partners and communities are joining the program. And this is sending an important message: This is how we are going to restore the planet.

NAtive trees reforested by ACCIÓN ANDINA

3.7M

Q: What are your goals for the next 5 years? A: As the president of Acción Andina, my goals are to listen and receive the advice of my main partners. These leaders are all part of my family. I want to secure what we are doing. We’re still planting more trees; we never stop. But Acción Andina is not just a program of planting trees or protecting forests. We are also engaging thousands of people. It’s culture, it’s hope, and cultivating future leaders.

Q: What does it mean to be an Ecopreneur? A: Who are the ecopreneurs? It’s us: me, Florent, local communities, native communities, local stakeholders, and other partners trying to do real action on the ground to protect this planet.

Q: What would you say to inspire others to become an ecopreneur? A: This life is the only one. If you don’t do things in the proper way, history is not going to remember you. History remembers actions. I invite everybody to write this portion of the story. In the end, it’s nice to know that we are doing something concrete to benefit all these local communities. And the best thing is that I’m sure that Mother Earth is happy with all we are doing.

RESTORING FORESTS: How protecting the Andes can temper our climate crisis—and support a culture.

EXPLAINER: Discover why Polylepis forests are critical in the fight against climate change.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Episode 3 of The Ecopreneurs in Peru.

Explore More

Eco•pre•neur: an environmentally minded entrepreneur who leads and drives climate action worldwide

Back to home

EXPLAINER: Discover why Polylepis forests are critical in the fight against climate change.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Episode 3 of The Ecopreneurs in Peru.

Explore More

RESTORING FORESTS: How protecting the Andes can temper our climate crisis—and support a culture.