Brazil has pledged to restore an expanse of degraded land half the size of the U.K. by 2030, reports Shanna Hanbury.
The commitment was made on October 28 at COP16 in Cali in the form of the Planaveg 2.0 initiative, which aims to revive 12 million hectares (30 million acres), approximately half of Brazil’s degraded lands. If successful, the project could sequester significant amounts of carbon and restore biodiverse habitats for numerous species.
But the plan faces considerable hurdles:
- Money: Funding for the project is, at best, partial, relying on public and private resources that have yet to be fully marshaled.
- Politics: A federal election in 2027 casts uncertainty over the continuity of this restoration drive.
- Rights: Private landowners hold over 75% of the targeted restoration area.
- Fire: Increased severity and frequency of drought is exacerbating fire risk. Fires can hinder restoration efforts and natural regeneration in some landscapes, like the Amazon rainforest.
Nonetheless, Fabiola Zerbini, the director of forests at Brazil’s environment ministry, remains hopeful. She points out that 5.6 million hectares in the Amazon are already experiencing natural regrowth, meaning significant rewilding could occur without substantial intervention—or investment. Incentives like low-interest loans and direct payments could motivate private landowners to join the effort.
However, heavily deforested and degraded areas will require more concerted action.
A study published last week in Nature estimated that 215 million hectares of deforested and degraded former forest land are capable of natural regrowth without significant human intervention—an area larger than Mexico. Brazil accounts for 43.7 million hectares of that potential.
Brazil has the second-largest extent of tree cover globally, with just under 500 million hectares.
