Thanks to the support of Fondation Franklinia, ProAves, together with Women for Conservation, is leading a targeted conservation strategy to protect 20 endemic and critically endangered Magnolia species across several Nature Reserves managed by the ProAves Foundation.
This initiative aims not only to regenerate, restore, and replant Magnolia species, but also to empower women by strengthening their leadership in nursery management and ecological restoration efforts.
Conserving Magnolia species and preventing their extinction demands meticulous, hands-on work—from locating parent trees and carefully harvesting their fruits, to the delicate process of germination, nurturing seedlings until they reach optimal planting size, selecting ideal reforestation sites, and conducting ongoing monitoring to ensure successful adaptation to their new environment.
A cornerstone of this process has been the construction of specialised nurseries. These spaces are designed for post-harvest handling, equipped with germination chambers, and set up for the close monitoring and care of each seedling, ensuring that every step of the restoration process is handled with precision and dedication.
Following fruit collection, our rangers and women leaders in the nurseries work together to carefully sort viable from non-viable seeds—an essential step for ensuring the success of the germination process. Additionally, we maintain close monitoring of humidity levels within the germination chambers to create optimal conditions for seedling growth.
Following the fruit harvest, the women leaders of the nursery, in collaboration with the rangers, undertake a crucial task: classifying the seeds. Separating the viable seeds from the non-viable ones demands both expertise and patience, as this step is critical to the overall success of the conservation process. Meanwhile, the germination chambers are continuously monitored to maintain optimal conditions for the healthy development of the future plants.
At ProAves and Women for Conservation, we actively promote the participation of women from local communities in the production of Magnolia seedlings as a key strategy for advancing gender equity. Through this initiative, we not only involve them in ecological restoration efforts but also work to strengthen their technical skills in nursery management, empowering them to play a central role in conservation.
Through the Magnolias Project, we remain dedicated to empowering women in critical conservation areas. With every Magnolia that blooms in our nurseries, we are not only sowing life and hope but also reinforcing the vital connection between ecological restoration and women’s leadership within our communities.
Currently, the nursery project is being implemented across several conservation areas, with a focused effort on reforesting endangered endemic Magnolia species in the following Nature Reserves:
With the support of:
