Supported by Fundo Vale, the Amazon Restoration Alliance actively contributed to the event, addressing key issues on the environmental restoration agenda
The Fifth Brazilian Ecological Restoration Conference, held by the Brazilian Society for Ecological Restoration, brought together experts, organizations and indigenous leaders from various parts of Brazil between July 8 and 12, 2024, in two neighboring cities: Juazeiro, Bahia and Petrolina, Pernambuco. The country’s largest event dedicated to ecological restoration held essential discussions on innovative methodologies, public policies and case studies.
During the event, the Amazon Restoration Alliance held a members’ meeting, at which Marcelo Ferronato, coordinator of the alliance’s Strategic Coordination Council, discussed strategies for COP 30. He highlighted the importance of engaging different actors in the restoration chain, including medium and large landowners, and of broadening the focus to biodiversity and ecosystem services promoted by restoration. The alliance actively participated in the conference in three debate sessions and had two booths where there were discussions and exchanges of information about its activities in the Amazon biome.
Around 50 indigenous people from different regions of Brazil gathered to discuss the restoration of ecosystems using ancestral wisdom. Rodrigo Freire, executive secretary of the alliance and head of private areas in the Brazilian Amazon at The Nature Conservancy, highlighted the importance of indigenous people as suppliers of seeds and saplings to restore degraded areas outside indigenous territories. He emphasized the need for public policies that facilitate the collection of seeds in a streamlined way, promoting income generation for local communities.
The conference also stressed the importance of science and technology in restoring degraded areas. Experts discussed new techniques and approaches, such as the use of drones to map and monitor areas, the application of bio-inputs to improve soil quality and the development of seed banks to speed up the recovery process and promote the long-term sustainability of restored ecosystems.
Public policies that could be developed and implemented to support large-scale ecological restoration were also debated. The dialogue focused on the government’s role in facilitating public-private partnerships, allocating financial resources and creating tax incentives for restoration projects.