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Photo: Ibá biodiversidade
Since the 1970s, the Brazilian planted tree industry has demonstrated its commitment to preserving this biodiversity; it has intensified its activities over the years, especially as this topic is increasingly incorporated into corporate and governmental strategies.
One of the most impactful initiatives is production integrated with conservation, through mosaic planting and creating ecological corridors to intersperse productive and preservation areas. The sector also expands the sustainable use of areas degraded by other crops or mismanagement every year, helping to restore social and environmental balance. Continuous investments in research and management of fauna, flora and the landscape reinforce the commitment to preserving and recovering biodiversity.
PRODUCTION INTEGRATED WITH CONSERVATION
Mosaic planting and establishing ecological corridors that interconnect productive and conservation areas, expanding connectivity between habitats.
RESTORATION OF DEGRADED AREAS
Expanding sustainable use of areas previously degraded by inappropriate practices, helping to reestablish social and environmental balance.
RESEARCH AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
Ongoing investments in research and management to preserve and recover fauna, flora and landscapes, reinforcing biodiversity.
Practices adopted by forest-based companies are fully connected to global targets like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the targets in the Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Strategic Plan of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). Within this context, the Brazilian planted tree sector is working together to build a country based on the values of a low-carbon, sustainable economy.
A survey by Ibá revealed that 100% of forest-based companies monitor biodiversity. For decades these companies have invested in monitoring programs, some beginning as early as the 1970s, generating data that are crucial for improving forest management practices and preserving biodiversity. The sector’s commitment is reinforced by robust environmental monitoring data which show how adopting sustainable practices has had a positive impact on biodiversity.
Monitoring of flora and fauna makes it possible to identify whether forest management practices affect biodiversity; if any negative changes are noticed, the strategies are revised. It is important to note that monitoring takes place in conservation areas as well as commercial plantations, where various fauna species have already been recorded using the cultivated areas for shelter or to movement.
The monitoring is carried out by multidisciplinary teams that include specialists from the company’s own staff, specialized consultants, and partnerships with universities and research institutions. Approximately 70% of the companies report that these partnerships have helped train new professionals and generated valuable data that result in scientific publications, monographs and dissertations. Over the past five years, more than 50 studies on biodiversity (articles, theses, and dissertations) were published in partnership with forest-based companies.
Monitoring has also shown the presence of new species previously unknown to science, such as Ocotea mantiqueirae, Tocoyena atlantica and Cnesterodon hypselurus, as well as some insects that are still being identified. These efforts have also registered the presence of species in certain regions for the first time, for example the bird species Forpus sclateri (the dusky-billed parrotlet) in Maranhão and the threatened primate Brachyteles arachnoides (the southern muriqui) in Minas Gerais.
In order to increase transparency and boost visibility for the sector’s activities, Ibá began collecting data on biodiversity from its member companies in 2019. A total of 23 Ibá member companies have shared their monitoring information, spanning 12 states and over 220 municipalities.
This survey included records of over 8,310 species including flora, mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fungi, distributed across five biomes: the Amazon Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, and Pampa. Most of the monitored groups were flora and fauna, most notably birds and mammals, as well as reptiles and amphibians. These records included 5,450 species of flora and over 2,800 of fauna, reinforcing the sector’s critical importance for biodiversity conservation.
In just two threatened biomes, the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, species monitoring revealed that 38% of the mammal species and 41% of the birds found were threatened, and also documented 161 species of amphibians and 174 of reptiles.
Note that recording species requires direct involvement by specialized professionals in each monitoring group to guarantee the accuracy of the information entered into the monitoring program databases.
Contributing directly to international goals like the targets of the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework launched at the COP15 on Biodiversity, which include goals focused on the restoration, recovery and conservation of species and ecosystem services, for example.
The sector’s contribution to biodiversity conservation goes beyond numbers to involve knowledge management, technical training and active participation in the development of public policies. Working together with the government to combat deforestation and create conservation units is essential to guarantee an economic development model based on an economy that reduces environmental impacts and preserves natural resources. The future of Brazilian biodiversity depends on continuing efforts by the forest sector and society to ensure the coexistence of production and preservation and guarantee an environmental legacy for generations to come.
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