Projects

The recovery of degraded areas is crucial for the conservation of the planet’s biodiversity and for Brazil to achieve its global restoration goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050 and the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework.

Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) is a technique that plays an important role in this context. Low-cost, it is a type of natural regeneration where human intervention helps accelerate the recovery process of the ecosystem. However, the lack of information and monitoring on where and how it can be implemented has hindered its expansion.

The project “Enablers of the Expansion of Assisted Natural Regeneration in Brazilian Forest Ecosystems” will tackle these challenges. Over the next two years, the International Institute for Sustainability (IIS), funded by the Bezos Earth Fund, will develop maps, protocols, guidelines, analyses, and methodologies for prioritizing and monitoring ANR techniques in the Amazon biomes, focusing on Pará, and the Atlantic Forest.

The project strategy includes:

i) coordinating, refining, and improving monitoring techniques;

ii) identifying priority areas for implementing ANR, targeting regions with the highest potential for ecosystem recovery;

iii) developing a strategic decision framework to help decision-makers define the best course of action;

iv) supporting the development of public policies;

v) increasing capacity-building opportunities.

The project was designed around six pillars. They are:

A dialogue space to learn and co-create guidelines to coordinate, refine, and improve available monitoring systems, enabling better tracking of restoration progress.

By improving our monitoring techniques, we will gain a more nuanced understanding of landscape dynamics and driving factors, helping us precisely identify priority areas for ANR interventions.

Additionally, our initiative will identify priority areas for ANR implementation, strategically targeting regions with the greatest potential for ecosystem recovery.

After identifying priorities, we will develop a strategic decision framework that assists professionals, managers, and decision-makers in determining the best course of action and adopting ANR at a given location.

Through the engagement of these stakeholders, we will support the development of policies that facilitate ANR implementation, including incentives for landowners to participate in restoration efforts. Field support will be central to our approach, ensuring that initiatives receive the necessary guidance and resources.

To this end, we will promote capacity-building opportunities for local communities and federal/regional governments, encouraging them to engage in restoration actions and fostering a culture of environmental management.

Brazil’s success in meeting its global, national, and state goals depends on its ability to scale low-cost initiatives, such as ANR, and integrate them into national biodiversity conservation and restoration strategies.

In addition to IIS, the following organizations have received funding from the Bezos Earth Fund: IMAZON, World Resources Institute Brazil (WRI), Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Conservation International Brazil (CI), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in partnership with SOBRE and the Alliance for Restoration in the Amazon.