• Biomas’ first large-scale reforestation project will plant over 2 million native trees across 1,200 hectares.
• The Mucununga Project aims to generate 500,000 high-integrity carbon credits over 40 years.
• Biomas integrates environmental restoration with social impact by involving local communities from the outset.

Biomas, a Brazilian reforestation company backed by Vale, Marfrig, Suzano, Santander Brasil, Itaú, and Rabobank, has launched its first major project: restoring 1,200 hectares of the Atlantic rainforest in Bahia state. The Mucununga Project represents a $9.7 million investment to plant over 2 million native trees, aiming to regenerate one of the world’s most biodiverse yet threatened ecosystems.

“The Atlantic rainforest is a biodiversity hotspot,” said Fabio Sakamoto, CEO of Biomas, emphasizing that the region’s infrastructure and secure land titles made it a strategic starting point. Currently, only 12% of the original Atlantic rainforest remains, despite the fact that it once covered areas now home to two-thirds of Brazil’s population.

The reforestation effort, in partnership with Veracel Celulose, is expected to generate around 500,000 carbon credits over the next four decades—each credit offsetting one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. Biomas differentiates itself from other emerging players like Mombak and re.green by beginning in the Atlantic corridor, though Sakamoto confirmed that “our focus is on both the Atlantic rainforest and the Amazon. We have been mapping opportunities in both biomes for the past couple of years.”

The project reflects Biomas’ systemic vision of ecological restoration, seeing the reconstruction of ecosystems as the realignment of soil, water, biodiversity, economy, and society. In the Muçununga Project, activities such as degraded land mapping, reforestation planning, and community engagement operate simultaneously to deliver outcomes beyond carbon capture.

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“The return of the forest will help maintain cooler temperatures and cleaner water, boosting agricultural productivity and the well-being of people, plants, and animals,“ the company noted in its project announcement. Community consultation and active listening were embedded from the project’s inception to ensure positive social impact.

This launch marks the first step in Biomas’ broader ambition: to restore millions of hectares of degraded or unproductive land across Brazil over the next 20 years.

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