Driving Effective Conservation and Restoration with Native Trees of the Amazon and Atlantic Forest

The Bezos Earth Fund granted $2.5M to the Technological Science Park of Southern Bahia and the Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests, and Agriculture (Coalizão Brasil Clima, Florestas e Agricultura) to support R&D on native species that can be used for restoration of degraded land in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes. Funds will be used for:

• Genetic improvement of native tree species for increased tree growth, carbon sequestration, and productivity; 
• Seed and seedling production to close the gap in availability of native seed supply; and 
• Wood technology to increase the conversion rate from timber to lumber for small-diameter native timber species. 

Research will be conducted on three demonstration sites, and findings will be applied to drive more effective conservation and restoration outcomes through improved management plans, policy recommendations, and investment packages.