Imagine...over a decade of vicious civil strife.  Imagine a society where nearly 80,000 neighbors and countrymen, both participants and bystanders, became victims of a hateful, bloody war.  Imagine, if you can,  a once lush, vibrant land corrupted by twelve long years of constant warfare into a devastated, decaying ecological disaster. 

Imagine El Salvador.

Latin America’s most densely populated and second most impoverished country  is a nation fighting to rise above the ashes, struggling to rebuild, and striving to mend the hatreds and resentments born in so much bloodshed.

The twelve years of conflict only added to centuries of environmental destruction and irresponsible exploitation of the land and natural resources. El Salvador faces extraordinary pressures on the land.  Today, less than 2 percent of El Salvador's original forest remains.  This massive deforestation has led to severe land erosion, loss of water sources and devastating climate changes.  More than a centimeter of precious topsoil is washed away to the sea each year.  The country's water table has been diminished by an average of 17 feet, and over 90 percent of its rivers are contaminated by industrial waste and pesticide residues.  Droughts and flooding are becoming almost annual disasters.

As it would anywhere, the civil war has brought enormous hardship on the people in El Salvador.  But the widespread destruction this war caused has brought devastation to a mostly agricultural society.  Small farmers, in an effort to find land from which to eke out a livelihood, are continually pushed towards marginal fields, often on hills and slopes unsuitable for agriculture and incredibly susceptible to erosion.  With so much environmental and economical destruction, an already fragile existence may be fighting a losing battle to stay alive—as the topsoil washes away, so does the precious cropland which supports survival.

To help heal both the psychological and environmental wounds caused by the years of conflict, Oscar Romero University is working with the local communities to form the National Forest of Reconciliation on the Guazapa Volcano.  The Forest is being planted in memory of thousands of war dead from all sides of the Salvadoran civil war, and at the same time will help to repair some of the devastating environmental damage done by the war.  The National Forest of Reconciliation  consists of five components:

1)  A Memorial Forest, where 80,000 trees are being planted -- one for each person killed in the war.  Plaques engraved with victims' names will be placed next to each tree.

2)  An Agroforestry Buffer Zone to protect Memorial Forest and provide for the needs of the surrounding  communities for firewood and lumber

3)  Tree Nurseries, to produce saplings for the forest.

4)  An Agroforestry Training Center to educate local peasants and farmers regarding sustainable use of their natural resources

5)  A Center for Eco-Tourism, to bring economic development and employment to the area while preserving natural resources.