Reforestation project in Rio de Janeiro aims to restore Atlantic Rainforest

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Pedra Branca State Park in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone is often forgotten and ignored. Most visitors and residents are far more familiar with Tijuca National Park, which is closer to the center of the city and, of course, boasts the famous Christ the Redeemer Statue, Gávea mountain, and many other areas of natural beauty and interest.

However, at only 4,000 hectares, Tijuca is dwarfed by Pedra Branca’s 12,000 hectares. In addition to this, Pedra Branca’s infrastructure being much more limited, the area is much wilder and interesting for those seeking out adventure. Unfortunately, the lower profile of Pedra Branca means that its problems, such as poaching and wildfires, are often overlooked. Last year’s dry season saw many fires, with terrible ones in June.

This year’s reforestation project aims to protect and increase biodiversity and environmental protection in the area. Extensive farming in the Pedra Branca massif from the first decades of colonialism had removed large forest areas, leaving slopes dry from exposure to the sun and thus increasing the likelihood of wildfires.

Planting more trees will improve water retention, shade the soil, and therefore help to reduce instances of wildfires. And, of course, the richer habitats that result from the return of natural forest cover provide habitats for a range of different plants and animals, many of them threatened.

The reforestation being carried out is in the Realengo neighborhood and coordinated by Inea (State Environment Institute).

Since 2015 over 5,500 seedlings of native Atlantic Rainforest species have been planted, and planting is set to accelerate under this project, with 1,500 to be planted by the end of the year. However, as this work is carried out entirely by volunteers, planting is not as fast as would be ideal for increased protection.

Jorge Jr, a reforestation agent with the Fiocruz Centre for the Atlantic Rainforest, says that the ideal endpoint for reforestation in Pedra Branca would be to create an ecological bridge between the Pedra Branca Massif and the Tijuca Massif.

As things stand, these two areas of forested mountains are effectively islands, so creating a connection would benefit the animal populations in each area. He pointed out that the first puma seen in Rio de Janeiro in decades was seen last year in the Pedra Branca area – evidence of the importance of the area for wildlife in the city.

Unfortunately, the forest bridge is not something that the current reforestation program will achieve, and efforts to accomplish this are hampered by land speculation, the expansion of militias, and the prevalence of crime in the region.

Many of the plants and animals in Pedra Branca are endangered or threatened; this is largely because the Atlantic Rainforest that once spanned Brazil’s coastline from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul has been decimated over the centuries since colonization, with only 15% of the original forest cover still left and a large part of this occurring in fragments.

As well as protecting the remaining areas, consolidation and reconnecting separated areas, such as Pedra Branca and Tijuca, are vitally important.

About 40% of vascular plants and 60% of vertebrates in the Atlantic forests are found nowhere else in the world. Hopefully, this latest reforestation effort will expand beyond this year and contribute to the wider objective of preserving this extraordinary ecosystem.