The Atlantic Forest in northern Rio is one of the richest biomes in the country. It is also one of the most degraded. Nearly 88% of its original vegetation has been destroyed or degraded by agriculture and other human activity. Rio-based restoration company Tree Agroflorestal SA, or Tree+, is helping to restore some 37,000 acres of the forest.
Last week, it received $8 million from Brazil’s development bank BNDES, representing the first tranche of a 151.8 million Brazilian reais ($31 million) commitment made by the bank in February. Tree+, which has developed and managed over 5,000 acres of large scale ecosystem restoration projects, will use the capital to reconnect fragmented forest patches using native trees, improve soil and water health, and develop carbon credits.
The project, says BNDES’ Aloizio Mercadante, “is Brazil showing that it is possible to restore the planet and develop a green economy.”
Private capital
The Tree+ project is part of BNDES Florestas, a restoration initiative that has mobilized 7 billion Brazilian reais ($1.4 billion) since 2023 with the aim of planting nearly 300 million trees and creating 70,000 green jobs. BNDES committed 4.3 billion reais ($850 million) in February to five equity funds and two credit vehicles for reforestation and other climate-related projects.
The Atlantic Forest has private capital as well as public. Brazil-based Symbiosis Investimentos, another project developer in the region, raised funding in 2021 from the $200 million Restore Fund, launched by Apple, Conservation International and Goldman Sachs. Last year, software giant Salesforce, Dutch beer maker Heineken and others joined the Atlantic Forest Alliance, a business coalition which committed to mobilizing an additional 350 million Brazilian reais ($70 million) at COP30 and restoring 12,400 acres by 2030.
