Brazil
Priority Setting for Scaling-Up Tropical Forest Restoration Projects: Early Lessons from the Atlantic Forest Restoration PactBackgroundThe Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (AFRP) serves as a network of different stakeholders at all scales, from local farmers and landowners with a few hectares on local scales to environmental action groups and policy makers on an ecosystem scale. There are currently over 200 stakeholder partners involved in the network, though it is not an NGO yet as of the publication of this article. The AFRP seeks to restore 15M ha of deforested land by 2050, the majority of which is land that, compliant with the Brazilian Forest Code, should be forest land. Available with subscription or purchase |
Management of the environmental restoration of degraded areasBackgroundThis study shares the results of an experimental method for restoration of degraded forest areas through the construction of small restoration ‘islands’ within a larger site as an impetus for further natural regeneration. The method has previously been used in Namibia and Spain and is trademarked as Revitec. This study tests the method in Brazil in a former rainforest area. Rainforest fragments remain in the area. Open access copy available |
Interactions among Amazon Land Use, Forests and Climate: Prospects for a Near-Term Forest Tipping PointBackgroundThis study concerns the interaction of anthropogenic and natural threats on the Amazon forest and considers the possibility of a tipping point in the near future. The authors argue that the interaction of various factors may lead to a large-scale forest dieback, for example a deforestation of about 31% of the Amazon closed-canopy forest formation. Open access copy available |
Burning Biodiversity: Fuelwood Harvesting Causes Forest Degradation in Human-Dominated Tropical LandscapesbackgroundOpen access copy available |
Effects of Fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest on Mammal Communities in South-Eastern BrazilBackgroundThe author presents a detailed analysis of the community of large and medium-sized mammals present in six remnants of the low Atlantic forest in Brazil. The six remnants had varying sizes: small (200 ha), medium (2,000 ha) and large (20,000 ha). The study seeks to (1) identify the mammal species richness and the relative abundance of individuals surviving in each reserve, and (2) analyze changes in the structure of the mammal community contrasting the relative abundances of orders and dietary categories between reserves of differing sizes. Available with subscription or purchase |
Multiple-Use Forest Management in the Humid Tropics: Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Forest ManagementbackgroundThis report documents three regional assessments that were carried out between 2009 and 2012 to identify and draw lessons from on-the-ground initiatives in multiple-use forest management (MFM) in the Amazon Basin, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia. Open access copy available |
Finding the money for tropical forest restorationBackgroundForest in tropical countries have experienced significant changes due to human activity, shifting primarily to agricultural or urban lands. This change not only leads to loss of biodiversity but it also affects the supply of valubale forest products and ecosystem services. This study calls for a shift in rhetoric in forest restoration to go beyond a conservation agenda and to include economic benefits. The article discusses the economic dimensions of forest restoration to justify their claim, drawing heavily on experience in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Open access copy available |
Biodiversity Persistence in Highly Human-modified Tropical Landscapes Depends on Ecological RestorationbackgroundThis paper shows how forest restoration can enhance biodiversity using case studies from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Open access copy available |
Ecological Restoration of Xingu Basin Headwaters: Motivations, Engagement, Challenges and PerspectivesBackgroundThis paper focuses on the Brazilian Amazon, specifically on the Xingu River Basin. It identifites deforestation as a threat to the Xingu River and a driver of environmental degradation. Open access copy available |
Semeando Sustentabilidade em Apuí (Seedling Sustainability in Apuí)The project aims to strengthen environmental management in Apuí, and to increase capacity for the development of more sustainable productive activities. To achieve this goal the project works simultaneously on reinforcing the network of seeds and seedling production, strengthening institutions, supporting planting and forest conservation, building capacity of landholders in rural properties, and providing environmental education and assistance for the creation of a development plan for the municipality. By means of the rotational management of pastures, the project predicts that it will be possible to identify the best alternative to increase production and profitability while simultaneously halting the advancement of deforestation. Open access copy available |
