Pontal, Brazil
Restoring the Atlantic Forest to bring back wildlife
Location
Pontal do Paranapanema, western São Paulo state
Project partners
Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ)
Restoration approaches
Framework planting; Assisted Natural Regeneration
Species
Include Cedrela fissilis, Cordia trichotoma, Colubrina glandulosa, Guazuma ulmifolia, Jacaranda cuspidifolia
Fauna
Black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus)
No other large tropical forest has suffered as much loss as Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. We’re working with IPÊ to restore the forest and bring back wildlife, and helping communities make a living from restoring and protecting it.
By reconnecting the second largest Protected Area in the Interior Atlantic Forest – the Morro do Diabo State Park – to the surrounding forest fragments, we’re creating more space and migration routes so that endangered species will thrive again.
Why and how we're working here
The Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) – which stretches along the Atlantic coast and inland as far as Paraguay – used to be six times the size of the UK. It has lost more than 80% of its original forest cover, mainly due to agricultural expansion. Many species are now listed as endangered, vulnerable or near threatened by the IUCN.
The project's impact on
nature and people
Our combined methods of assisted natural regeneration and framework planting help the communities start making a living from restoring and protecting the forest, which UNESCO still considers to be one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. It’s home to more than 300 amphibian species, 250 mammal species, 1000 bird species and almost 200 reptile species.
