Private landowners drive major forest recovery success in brazil’s atlantic forest

A groundbreaking study reveals that private landowners are becoming unlikely heroes in Brazil’s fight to restore one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems. Research on the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact shows that collaborative conservation efforts on private lands achieved a remarkable 20% increase in vegetation cover between 2000 and 2018 – significantly outpacing areas without restoration intervention.

The Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact, launched in 2009, represents an innovative approach to environmental recovery by uniting governments, NGOs, companies, and private landowners across 17 Brazilian states. This collaborative initiative has already restored 4,600 hectares of forest – an area roughly the size of Manhattan – with an ambitious goal of restoring 15 million hectares by 2050. The study analyzed 158,000 hectares of land, comparing restored areas with untouched sites to measure the program’s effectiveness.

For participating landowners, the benefits extend far beyond environmental impact. “Landowners report that after starting restoration planting, springs returned, streams filled, and the land cooled,” explains Ludmila Pugliese de Siqueira, the study’s co-author and director of Conservation International Brazil’s landscape restoration program. These tangible improvements directly enhance their quality of life and property value.

However, significant challenges remain. Approximately 75% of the Atlantic Forest sits on private property, and nearly 90% of the original 110 million hectares has been lost to agriculture and development. The success of private land restoration offers hope that collaborative conservation models could help recover this critically important biome that once covered much of Brazil’s coast.