Arboredo Project: A Million Trees for Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest
The Arbor Day Foundation and Forest Trends are set to broaden their collaboration through a new venture, the Arboredo Project. This initiative aims to bolster the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) and plant an additional one million trees in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest.
Brazilian authorities have pledged to restore 12 million hectares of land by 2030. The Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, a crucial biodiversity hotspot that houses 70 percent of the nation’s population, has the potential to restore up to 17 million hectares.
The Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative of Forest Trends and the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one million trees in the Ribeira and Paraíba Valleys of the Atlantic Rainforest in São Paulo State. They will collaborate directly with IPLCs, family farmers, local cooperatives, and NGOs like CooperCentral VR, Coobio, and Akarui. The project will concentrate on the Atlantic Rainforest’s native species to enhance economic opportunities and boost food security, forest carbon storage, and biodiversity in IPLC and family farmer territories. Early plantings will include native species such as Jussara (Euterpe edulis), a variety of açaí, and local fruits like Cambucá (Plinia edulis) and Grumixama (Eugenia brasiliensis).
Indigenous communities effectively manage 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity and nearly a quarter of all carbon stored in tropical forests. Deforestation rates are also substantially lower in forests managed by IPLCs, even compared to government-controlled reserves. However, these communities are threatened by land grabbing, illegal activities and exploitation, and land conflicts, as well as challenges in directly accessing economic opportunities.
The Arboredo Project (or Projeto Arboredo in Portuguese) builds upon existing reforestation partnerships in the Brazilian Amazon between Forest Trends, the Arbor Day Foundation, the Zoró, Paiter Suruí, and 14 other indigenous peoples to plant agroforestry systems. The Arbor Day Foundation recently evaluated global forests most in need of reforestation and identified the Atlantic Rainforest as a priority region. The Foundation uses its Forest Priority Index to determine where trees can have the most impact on climate change, wildlife, and indigenous communities.
“Our partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation over the past three years has proven that sustainable, forest-based value chains in partnership with indigenous and local communities are a successful strategy to improve indigenous livelihoods and governance, conserve biodiversity, and mitigate climate change,” said Beto Borges, Director of Forest Trends’ Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative. "In expanding this partnership, we can scale these benefits across additional biomes and communities in Brazil.”
“We believe that planting trees is an investment in the health of the people and wildlife around them and we’re grateful for Forest Trends’ commitment to that vision,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “This project in the Atlantic Rainforest will help support the growth of economic opportunities for local communities and safeguard one of the world’s most critical habitats.”
“We are deeply encouraged by the growing recognition of indigenous peoples and local communities as the best stewards of the world’s forests and as essential partners in conserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change,” said Michael Jenkins, CEO and Founding President of Forest Trends. “Our continued partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation is part of a larger effort to scale this critical restoration work across Brazil and other forest countries around the world.”
Brazilian authorities have pledged to restore 12 million hectares of land by 2030. The Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, a crucial biodiversity hotspot that houses 70 percent of the nation’s population, has the potential to restore up to 17 million hectares.
The Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative of Forest Trends and the Arbor Day Foundation will plant one million trees in the Ribeira and Paraíba Valleys of the Atlantic Rainforest in São Paulo State. They will collaborate directly with IPLCs, family farmers, local cooperatives, and NGOs like CooperCentral VR, Coobio, and Akarui. The project will concentrate on the Atlantic Rainforest’s native species to enhance economic opportunities and boost food security, forest carbon storage, and biodiversity in IPLC and family farmer territories. Early plantings will include native species such as Jussara (Euterpe edulis), a variety of açaí, and local fruits like Cambucá (Plinia edulis) and Grumixama (Eugenia brasiliensis).
Indigenous communities effectively manage 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity and nearly a quarter of all carbon stored in tropical forests. Deforestation rates are also substantially lower in forests managed by IPLCs, even compared to government-controlled reserves. However, these communities are threatened by land grabbing, illegal activities and exploitation, and land conflicts, as well as challenges in directly accessing economic opportunities.
The Arboredo Project (or Projeto Arboredo in Portuguese) builds upon existing reforestation partnerships in the Brazilian Amazon between Forest Trends, the Arbor Day Foundation, the Zoró, Paiter Suruí, and 14 other indigenous peoples to plant agroforestry systems. The Arbor Day Foundation recently evaluated global forests most in need of reforestation and identified the Atlantic Rainforest as a priority region. The Foundation uses its Forest Priority Index to determine where trees can have the most impact on climate change, wildlife, and indigenous communities.
“Our partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation over the past three years has proven that sustainable, forest-based value chains in partnership with indigenous and local communities are a successful strategy to improve indigenous livelihoods and governance, conserve biodiversity, and mitigate climate change,” said Beto Borges, Director of Forest Trends’ Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative. "In expanding this partnership, we can scale these benefits across additional biomes and communities in Brazil.”
“We believe that planting trees is an investment in the health of the people and wildlife around them and we’re grateful for Forest Trends’ commitment to that vision,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “This project in the Atlantic Rainforest will help support the growth of economic opportunities for local communities and safeguard one of the world’s most critical habitats.”
“We are deeply encouraged by the growing recognition of indigenous peoples and local communities as the best stewards of the world’s forests and as essential partners in conserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change,” said Michael Jenkins, CEO and Founding President of Forest Trends. “Our continued partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation is part of a larger effort to scale this critical restoration work across Brazil and other forest countries around the world.”
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