Capacity building in forest restoration: Integrated biodiversity and climate protection in the Mata Atlântica - REPLÂNTICA
The Brazilian Mata Atlântica, a global biodiversity hotspot that includes major populated cities, is under stress from human demands. Whilst biodiversity and ecosystem services are intrinsically gratis, they suffer from urban pressure that can lead to their collapse. Though legal frameworks demand ecological restoration, conservation gains are required to save and rebuild biodiverse forests, ecosystem services and to protect the climate. The project aims at developing training courses aimed at diverse local and multi-sectorial public who can shape these changes, including landowners, influencers and the public. These can learn of the issues, share in the need to restore, learn how to restore their degraded land and evaluate and document their efforts and link to global targets, looking at the corporate world for long-term sustainability.
- Countries
- Brazil
- IKI funding
- 799,829.70 €
- Duration
- 01/2024 till 12/2026
- Status
- open
- Implementing organisation
- TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences
- Implementing Partner
-
- Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve
- Online
State of implementation/results
- The initial developer workshop took place at Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve (REGUA), Brazil, in March 2024.
- The REPLÂNTICA website was subsequently launched within the REGUA website, first in Portuguese www.regua.org.br/… and then in English www.regua.org.br/…
- So far, we have run the first four courses on ecological restoration, targeted at local public sector workers, women in rural areas and university students.
- The first course, tailored to the local public sector, took place in June 2024 with 29 participants.
- The second course, tailored to women working in rural areas, took place in July 2024 with 20 participants.
- The third course, tailored for university students, took place in August 2024 with 20 participants.
- The fourth course, tailored for local community members, took place in September and October 2024 with 28 participants.
- We have created certificates for successful course participation. By October 2024, 97 certificates had been issued to successful course participants.
- On September 17, REGUA and TH Köln held the kick-off event for the REPLÂNTICA project. After the presentation of the project by the project leaders and coordinators from Brazil and Germany, Alex Mendes, Executive Secretary of the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (PACTO), gave an impressive keynote speech. Participants of the kick-off even included:
- the Government Secretary of Cachoeiras de Macacu, Fábio Luciano,
- the Head Rio de Janeiro’s Rural Extension Agency (EMATER), Marcelo Monteiro da Costa,
- Rio de Janeiro’s State Government Superintendent, Philipe Campello,
- the ecological restoration coordinator of the State Department for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), Felipe de Drummond,
- the head of the Forest Institute at the Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Dr. Roberto Lelis, and
- WWF-Brasil’s representative, Thaís Ribeiro.
- On September 18, the first network meeting for ecological restoration took place, marking the starting point of the participatory network ‘Rede de Participação para Restauração Ecológica’. A sapling of a native fruit tree, Eugenia guapiassuana, a species, which was first found in the REGUA forests and has just recently been scientifically described, was planted as a symbol of the network.
- On the same day, the first matchmaking event took place introducing the idea of matches for forest restoration.
- The fifth course tailored to landowners started at the end of October 2024 with 25 participants.
- Posts were made on Instagram and on REGUA’s YouTube channel. www.youtube.com@ReservaEcologicadeGuapiacu.
Latest Update:
12/2024
Project relations
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