Despite Manmade-Extinction Threat, Latin America's 'Magic Tree' Coming Back to Life

A highly-coveted tree, bearer of nutritious fruit, the guaimaro, which was nearing extinction, but was once found abundantly across South America is being revived to life in Colombia. 

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The tree is breathing new life in Colombia's northeastern Guajira region. Known to be widely adaptable, the guaimaro is drought-resistant but manmade activities like deforestation have decimated the bountiful tree, whose leaves and fruit have for centuries sustained animals and humans alike.

"Without trees, there is no water, and without water, there are no trees. People cut it, burn it for cultivation, for their livestock. Wood is scarce and the rivers are drying up," Manuel Duran, a 61-year-old farmer, told the AFP. 

"The guaimaro is a magic tree," Daisy Tarrier, the 39-year-old director of the NGO Envol Vert, told the AFP, recounting the many qualities of its fruit, a sort of orange nut-rich in nutrients.  

In Colombia's Medellin, hundreds of global experts will be convening to attend the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) later this month to discuss on the issue of world's fauna, flora, and soil.