Working group explains actions to promote scaled restoration and reforestation
The Restoration and Reforestation Working Group (WG) presented ways to recover and increase forest cover in Brazil, during a webinar held on September 26. According to the group, restoration and reforestation can occur in a way so that the forest area can both generate income and provide environmental services.
In the first part of the webinar, Marina Campos, conservation specialist at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), presented two of the three actions under development by the WG planned for this and the coming year. One of them is the building of an online platform to monitor critical factors to enable restoration and reforestation programs in the country. The information is divided by state. This platform will offer information from the Environment Rural Registry and the Environmental Regulation Program for each of the Brazilian states, inform if there is an incentive policy for seed production and a law for payment of environmental services, among other items. “It will serve as an x-ray of what the state has in terms of favoring or hindering for scaled gains in restoration. From it, we would try to clear up bottlenecks,” explained Marina. The platform is being developed in partnership with Geoflorestas, a member of Coalition.
The other action is the making of free informational videos of five minutes apiece, on important topics on the restoration agenda, and regarding the broadening of vegetal cover in the country. These videos will contribute to reaching one of the WG’s goals, which is to develop a national training program for agents in the restoration and reforestation production chain. The specific topics include: the Environmental Rural Registry, how to make a diagnosis of an area of interest, best techniques and economic use of the forest. Currently, the WG is preparing the video scripts and will prepare an estimate to seek funding.
During the second part of the webinar, Alan Batista, investment analyst at WRI Brasil, presented the WG action font, which is the development of a Research and Development (R&D) platform of native species for economic ends. The work involves the Verena Project, from WRI, and is developed with the Coalition WG, through the synergy aimed at promoting research and development in the area.
This platform will include information on genetic improvement, management and monitoring of native species, in addition to identifying species that would generate faster returns to investors. “It is necessary to include research and development so that the planting of native species is seen as a high-return investment,” said Batista. “Being that each species requires years of investments, what was discussed in the group was the focus on few key-species, for which there already is a certain amount of knowledge and a good representation in biomes, beyond the established market.”
The WG has outlined planned for governance of this platform, with a management fund to enable funding and to initiate the project. The group intends to promote a seminar or a workshop in November, in partnership with ministries, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, to discuss the platform and understand how to obtain funding.