The Return of Flora and Fauna in the Atlantic Forest

Instituto Terra

Founded by the couple Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado and renowned photographer, Sebastião Salgado in 1998, Instituto Terra, a non-profit civil organisation proved that humans can reconstruct much of what has been destroyed and help re-establish the right environmental balance on our planet. Instituto Terra is located in the State of Minas Gerais, a region in Brazil fortunate to have diverse natural areas, including the Atlantic Forest, savanna, and scrubland biomes. This makes the area particularly special and ecologically rich. The Atlantic Forest is second in biodiversity only to the Amazon, with nearly as many tree species in a single acre as on the entire East Coast of the United States.

The forest is home to a wide variety of animals due to its diverse ecosystems. More than four million people live in this region and once bore the consequences of deforestation, especially water scarcity. The land covered by Instituto Terra is where Salgado grew up - a 1,750-acre former farm about 70 miles inland from Brazil’s Atlantic coast. In the 1950s, its road to the outside world was a dirt track along the river, often muddy and impassable for half the year. Today it is a federally recognized nature preserve (Private Reserve of Natural Heritage) that raises millions of tree seedlings in its nursery, trains young ecologists, and promotes ecotourism for visitors to see a forest reborn. The Instituto committed to reforesting 608.69 hectares of a degraded area that was less than two decades ago taken over by cattle pasture and erosion. The idea was simple, involve all the community to change the fate of the land. Everyone came forward; school-going students, engineers, women, and farmers across Brazil. In 1999, the first planting was carried out by students from schools nearby. Over the past 26 years, Instituto Terra planted over 3 million native Atlantic Forest trees.

Main line of action and impact

Instituto Terra is dedicated to diverse projects, always in resonance with its main lines of action, which are: the maintenance of native biodiversity, sustainable development of traditional and rural communities, and the conservation and ecological development of the Rio Doce Valley. To achieve this goal, it develops projects that range from forest restoration and protection of springs to applied scientific research and environmental education. The world has seen visible results of this contribution (see Fig. 1). Thousands of hectares of degraded areas within and outside the institute have welcomed the biodiversity and the return of native fauna. One of the award-winning initiatives, Olhos D’Água, focuses on restoring and protecting water resources and has already restored over 2,000 springs.

Fig 1: Timelapse between 2013 and 2023 obtained from Restor shows visible results of the restoration efforts.

By monitoring the area, it’s evident that the new forest supports various creatures, from small insects like ants, beetles, and butterflies to larger animals like a small family of ocelots. This range of wildlife indicates that the food chain is being restored, which is vital for the complete recovery of biodiversity in the reforested area. We were thrilled to see the return of the incredible plant and animal diversity of the Atlantic Forest in an area that was once completely degraded. Let’s dive in.

Fig 2: Return of biodiversity in the Atlantic forest including plants, birds, mammals, and reptiles.

Flora

Instituto Terra planted over 3 million tree seedlings using more than 293 native Atlantic Forest species. Planting continues in these areas to support local biodiversity and ensure the sustainability and growth of the Atlantic Forest. New species, especially those that attract native wildlife, are added to increase diversity. With advanced restoration techniques, Instituto Terra has contributed to many reforestation projects.

Fauna

For anyone strolling along the trails of the Private Reserve of Natural Heritage Bulcão Farm today gets to hear the loud and courageous birdsong. It's hard to picture the degradation in the late 80s. Animals soon started making their way back. The first monitoring of the fauna was finalized in 2006 – seven years after the start of reforestation – identified that there already lived 172 bird species (six of which were threatened with extinction); 33 species of mammals (two of which are endangered in the world and three others endangered in Brazil); 15 species of amphibians and 16 species of reptiles.

Fig 3: Return of biodiversity in the Atlantic forest.

Interestingly, a family of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) has been spotted in the area. This is an important indicator that the food chain is stable, allowing this cat, which is at the top of the chain and classified as vulnerable in Brazil, to reestablish itself in the environment. Every year becomes more attractive to receive new and legitimate residents of the Atlantic Forest.

Restoring an ecosystem is daunting. But not impossible.

Restoring at a late stage of degradation is not an easy task, but it is a challenge that Instituto Terra was willing, and proud, to take. The communities present along the Rio Doce River remain central to Instituto Terra's actions. Now the organisation seeks to empower the rural producers and traditional communities in the region with knowledge about agroecology as an alternative form of production. This is a step to guarantee sustainable livelihoods for communities.

Tribute to the grand work of Instituto Terra: ‘Refloresta’

Refloresta, is a tribute to Instituto Terra. Created by Gil, a legendary Brazilian singer and songwriter, the love anthem for tropical forests is a battle hymn to be sung by those who, like the Instituto Terra, believe in the power of transformation and fight for ecological preservation. This song is an urgent call for the recovery of our forests.

Stories like Instituto Terra give us tremendous hope. Restor has hundreds of nature conservation projects that you can read about and support. If you like what you read, support Restor’s global efforts to protect and restore nature for the benefit of people, biodiversity, and climate. Our thanks to you!