Sustainably restoring rainforest in Brazil

The rainforest on the east coast of Brazil is not only particularly rich in species, but also under massive threat. Brazilian legislation therefore calls for its reforestation. To support this, TH Köln and the local non-governmental organization REGUA have been developing training courses for the various target groups on site since the beginning of 2024 - with success: more than 130 certificates have been issued so far.

The Brazilian Atlantic coastal rainforest is one of the most species-rich ecosystems on earth. However, due to historical deforestation, the expansion and intensification of agriculture and urbanization, only around 12 percent of the original forest area remains. “This is too little to guarantee biodiversity and important ecosystem services such as water supply, climate regulation and protection against natural hazards like floods, landslides and droughts,” says project leader Prof. Dr. Udo Nehren from the Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT) at TH Köln. Although the Brazilian government obliges landowners to reforest at least 20 to 80 percent of their land, depending on the state, the results so far have been inadequate.

This is where the “REPLÂNTICA” project by ITT and REGUA in the state of Rio de Janeiro comes in: The project team is developing and optimizing six different training courses by December 2026, which will be offered free of charge. The courses are tailored to the respective situation and the individual needs of the target groups of landowners, the local population, women, students, government/authorities and NGOs. Each course consists of three modules. These deal with theoretical and practical skills for the ecological restoration of forest areas and other ecosystems, the assessment and management of restoration measures to be implemented and cooperation and funding opportunities. The courses start at the local level in the Guapiaçu watershed and are adapted over the duration of the project to reach interested stakeholders beyond the watershed.

Promoting understanding, knowledge and engagement

“With the training courses, we want to promote understanding and impart knowledge that can then be passed on by the participants as multipliers,” explains Dr. Claudia Raedig, ITT project coordinator. The aim is to create long-term awareness of the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Atlantic rainforest, as well as of the participants' own actions and the possibilities of independently restoring degraded areas. “In addition, the certificates open up further employment opportunities for course graduates in the field of renaturation - for example with a local environmental organization or initiative, in their own tree nursery, as a park ranger or as a guide for tourists,” says Raedig.

So far, training courses have been held for the six target groups of the local population, women, students, government/authorities, NGOs and landowners, and 136 participants have already successfully completed the courses. In further steps, the courses will be repeated and their concepts adapted based on feedback from the participants. At the end of the project, a free handbook is to be produced, which other organizations or initiatives worldwide can use to offer comparable courses.

In addition to developing and optimizing the training courses, another important goal of the project is networking. The “Participatory Network for Ecological Restoration” was set up for this purpose. In so-called matchmaking events, course participants are brought together with the private sector so that they can support each other in carrying out sustainable restoration activities and overcome obstacles to reforestation. As part of these partnerships, for example, seedlings of native tree species, tools, fertilizers, manpower, knowledge or land are made available and actively used for reforestation.

About the project

The transfer project “Capacity Building for Forest Restoration: Biodiversity and Climate Protection in the Mata Atlântica” (“REPLÂNTICA”) is led by Prof. Dr. Udo Nehren from the Institute for Technology and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT) at TH Köln. The project partner is the local environmental organization Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu (REGUA). The project is funded by the IKI Medium Grants program of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) with almost 800,000 euros over a period of three years. Since 2020, the IKI has been funding North-South cooperation projects that make innovative contributions to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity together with local civil society actors. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Federal Foreign Office are responsible for the IKI.