Brazil launches initiative to restore forests in the Caatinga to mark Arbor Day

Brazil celebrated Arbor Day today by launching an initiative to restore forests in degraded ecosystems in the Caatinga, a unique Brazilian biome in the northeast of the country.

The Caatinga Association on Wednesday unveiled the Restaura Caatinga project, which aims to disseminate technical knowledge, train seed collectors, and restore forests in damaged ecosystems, as well as encourage the population to think about the importance of forests for living things.

The association aims to “coordinate innovative techniques for restoring forests, training personnel and promoting the seed network to protect the biome.”

Among the planned actions is the restoration of the forest around the Neném Barros Private Reserve (RPPN) in the municipality of Crateús (Ceará state, northeast of the country).

The general coordinator of the Caatinga Association, Daniel Fernandes, explained that “the action will benefit 20 hectares of the surrounding area, contributing to the restoration of a degraded region and the continued protection of the private natural heritage (RPPN).”

“All this increases the supply of ecosystem services the standing forest provides, such as carbon stock and security of extraction and water,” he added.

The Restaura-Caatinga project encompasses four of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) set by the United Nations:

SDG 4 (Quality Education),

SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities),

SDG 13 (Climate Action) and

SDG 15 (Life of Terrestrial Ecosystems).

According to the partnership, the project is also in line with the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).