Jan 13, 2025 12:00:00

What was the sad fate of the forest that took four years to regenerate as part of the Amazon Revival Project?

Environmental research group Rio Terra has been carrying out an Amazon reforestation project in the southwest of

the Rio Preto Jacunda State Natural Reserve in Brazil since 2019, with the aim of combating climate change and providing sustainable resources. The project cost about $1 million, directly employed more than 100 people, and attempted to regenerate the forest by replanting 360,000 trees, but it came to a sad end.

Arson turns Amazon reforestation project to ashes
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-arson-amazon-reforestation-ashes.html

Launched in 2019 by environmental research group Rio Terra, the reforestation project aimed to revive a corner of the world's largest rainforest, while also promoting climate change and creating conservation jobs. It also aimed to provide locals with a sustainable source of income by planting exportable crops, such as açai palm . 'The idea was ambitious,' says Rio Terra's project coordinator, Alexis Bastos.

The Rio Terra project is located on the southwest side of the 95,000-hectare (approximately 950 square km) Rio Preto Jaquanda State Natural Reserve, and involved reforestation of approximately 270 hectares (approximately 2.69 square km).

However, this project was not accepted by some people. This is because the area where the project was implemented is a major cattle ranching area, and rainforests are often illegally destroyed for pasture. In addition, because it is difficult for police to crack down on nature reserves in remote areas, organized crime such as illegal logging and gold mining is likely to occur in the Amazon. According to Bastos, Rioterra staff members have actually received repeated death threats over the project. Some staff members were even threatened at gunpoint, with the message, 'If you continue to try to restore this area, the next time it will not be just a message.'

Then, on September 3, 2023, just as the brown, faded Amazon was beginning to turn green, all the young trees were burned by fire. A forensic report by ICMBio , an organization that manages protected areas and national parks, concluded that 'the fire was probably an arson motivated by an attempt to disrupt the ecological recovery process in the area,' citing satellite images showing that the fire had spread against the wind.

Below is a picture of the reforested area after the incident, as shown by science media Phys.org. 'People don't know how much work it took to restore that forest. It was a really important, massive project,' Bastos said with regret.

'There has been a surge in environmental crimes in the region, perpetrated by mafia gangs specializing in land grabbing, using hired guns and guerilla tactics. Given the modus operandi, this is probably what is happening in the Rio Preto Jacunda Reserve,' said Pablo Hernández Biscardi, the case's lead prosecutor.

Despite the difficulties of the project, Bastos said, 'We must not allow these land grabbers to believe that this is normal, that they have more power than the state. We as a society need to stop this.' He expressed his intention to continue trying to succeed by restarting the project.