Agroforestry Research on
Assisted Reproduction

Derived from the research on the distribution of medicinal plants in their ecosystems, a worrisome pattern emerged, clearly showing the accelerated disappearance of natural habitats for many of these plants (see Berger et al., 2022). As a key request from Maya Elders, the Green Health Initiative aims to conduct research on seed and seedling production cycles of these plants, as well as research on effective mechanisms for germination leading to assisted reproduction.  The majority of the tropical species used by healers in Petén have not been studied and most healers do not know how to reproduce them outside of their habitats. Given collection in natural environments is not sustainable and is under severe threat, it is imperative to develop agroforestry plantations that add value by reinserting medicinal species needed in traditional medicine and for future novel value-chains. Through support of the ACGERS Council in Petén, the first regional plant nursery and medicinal plant sanctuary named Saq kar Q’een, is underway. Our goal is to scale-up plant nurseries along with seed repositories, in order to safeguard native species and conduct research on the most efficient mechanisms for germination, transplantation and assisted reproduction. These nurseries will produce the plants necessary to implement forest regeneration including a rich biodiverse component of useful medicinal species, including super foods native to the tropical forest.