Reforesting the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil

The last period was a breakthrough for SINAL Reforestation project: leading international and Brazilian researchers and practitioners in the restoration field met in November 2014 and decided to join efforts by creating a collaborative venture aimed to articulate new strategies for  reforestation around the Metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro.  The initiative was named Green Belt and the starting group is formed by well known and established organizations such as REGUA - http://www.guapiassubirdlodge.com/; Ecovila El Nagual ; Onda Verde http://www.ondaverde.org.br/; sinal do vale: www.sinaldovale.org. The enclosed map shows the area covered by the Green Belf  organizations.  The idea is to mobilize resources to maintain the areas covered and to expand the restoration. through the innumerous sources that are available to meet the tragets set by the municipality of Rio public works leading to the Olympic Games which the city will host in 2016. The city has the target of planting 3 million trees. Scientific studies affirm that  the minimum amount of Atlantic Rainforest needed is 30% to maintain its health, and reckons that planting close to 1/2 a million hectares around existing parcels of 200ha + of forest would do it. 

Building on this positive wave, SINAL is launching an initiative to engage young people, aging 15 to 24, which are out of the formal education and of the formal labor market. Our idea is to train them in reforestation related activities, collecting seeds, building nurseries, planting trees and participating in market value chains that could enhance the regreening of the land.  Our aim is to train 100 of them in this new type of profession. 

 Ecossystems services represent a new  economic trend.  They include specially  reforestation systems   and the  conservation of water  resources.  For a country  like Brasil  which  is a giant in biodiversity, this is of strategic importance.  This project wants to offer a model of education for ecossytem services which will tackle two critical problems at the same time. A social problem represented  by low income young people that do not have a profession and yet have to join the market on one hand, and  the reversion of the deforestation patterns that have reduced Mata Atlantica, a hot spot on biodiversity, to o 12 % of its original forest coverage. 

We want to thank our donors and let  you know that we plan to plant a mininum of 1 million trees in 2015.  We are greateful for your  trusted  us.  Together we can!!! 

Links:

• Article on the meeting on restoration that happened in Rio