Restoring Brazil's Atlantic Forest

Your support is protecting the endangered Black Lion Tamarin

The Brazilian Atlantic forest is one of the most biodiverse spots in the world, yet due to severe habitat destruction many species are under threat of extinction. The Black Lion Tamarin is one of such species: its population has been declining drastically and today only about 1500 individuals remain in the Pontal Do Panarapanema region.
This is where you make a difference: thanks to your support, several tree wildlife corridors have been planted. These connect remaining forest areas in the region and allow greater movement of individuals. Not only does this increase food security, the Tamarin’s chance of finding a suitable partner does too.

Joining the PACT for a bigger IMPACT

In  April  2018,  WeForest  joined  a  coalition  of  more  than  270  companies,  public  agencies,  research  centers  and  NGOs  called  the  Atlantic  Forest  Restoration  Pact.  With  more  than  2  million  hectares  deforested  in  the  last  decade,  the  Atlantic  Forest  is  highly  threatened.  The  Pact  aims  to  restore  15  million  hectares  of  the  Atlantic  Forest  by  2050.WeForest’s  forest  landscape  restoration  activities  directly  contribute  to  achieving  the  goal.  WeForest  also  shares  within  the  Pact  its  research  findings  and  collaborates  with  other  researchers  on  analysing  data  on  forest  growth  to  identify  areas  with  high  potential  for  forest  landscape  restoration.

In Brazil, WeForest and our partners are demonstrating that biodiversity friendly land use alternatives are possible. Through planting connecting corridors between patches of forest, we restore the Atlantic Forest, a highly threatened and biologically significant ecoregion stretching from northeast Brazil to Paraguay.

Meet Marcos, a 75 year-old farmer who was recently trained in agroforestry and organic farming. After moving around various parts of Brazil and cultivating land, Marcos settled in Paranapanema when he was already 50, attracted by the promise of land ownership by the government. After six years of waiting, he was finally able to acquire several hectares of land, and he has been actively cultivating them since.

Marcos took part in training on agroforestry and organic farming: to grow his income and to boost the productivity of his farm, tree species such as pineapple, orange and jackfruit were planted. The additional forest cover also helped animals return to the area. “Last week my son spotted a giant anteater while herding our cattle and I recently saw some foxes, coatis and agoutis”.

Thanks to your support, we can provide even more training to farmers like Marcos and keep adding to more than 1 million trees we have already planted in the Atlantic Forest. These trees directly restore more than 600 hectares of forest, which are estimated to positively impact 45 000 hectares of land, bringing benefits to people, ecosystems and climate.