The Doce river basin was highlighted in the presentations made by the Renova Foundation team
Forest restoration in the Doce River Basin was featured in two international events held in Europe. The Sustainable Land Use (UST) team of the Renova Foundation participated in the World Conference on Monitoring Forests Through Aerial Imaging– ForestSAT 2022, in Berlin, Germany, and in the 13th European Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration – SERE 2022, held in Alicante, Spain.
Renova Foundation employees Felipe Tieppo, Karina Barbosa and Leandro Abrahão highlighted some actions related to the study to define priority areas in the Doce River basin, carried out in partnership with the federal universities of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Viçosa (UFV). The research was essential to determine within a basin of large proportions which area would be able to receive restoration actions.
Conferences
At SERE 2022, Karina Barbosa and Leandro Abrahão spoke about how forest restoration is generating income and improving the lives of people living in areas of social vulnerability and about the importance of training agents to work in the area. In addition, the functioning of the Seeds and Seedlings Network, created by the Renova Foundation to provide inputs to forest restoration programs and generate income for communities through the sale of forest seeds and seedlings, was presented.
“In the context of the Seeds and Seedlings Network, the forest becomes a source of income through the harvesting and commercialization of non-timber forest products, so the communities’ perception is to preserve and protect the forest that was once a problem. This is resignification and valuation of the forest. This is restoring nature and connecting people”, says Leandro.
Karina Barbosa emphasizes the importance of the Renova Foundation’s participation in SERE. “The main theme of SERE 2022 was ‘Restoring Nature and Reconnecting People’, which makes perfect sense for our participation, which publicized works related to the training of people, challenges and opportunities for local communities and the socioeconomic impact of forest restoration in the basin of the Doce River.”
Felipe Tieppo participated in both conferences. At ForestSAT, he presented the use of the study carried out in partnership with UFMG and UFV to gain scale in validating areas for restoration in the basin. At the SERE conference, the specialist spoke about the economic chain of forest restoration in the basin and showed how the actions are improving people’s lives and generating employment and income in the most vulnerable regions.
According to Tieppo, participating in these events brings positive visibility to the forest restoration program. “It is an opportunity to represent the Renova Foundation and show the world that we carry out serious work, with effective deliveries, fulfilling legal obligations, respecting governance, stakeholders and engaging rural producers to promote a significant change in land use in a basin which historically is among the most degraded in Brazil.”
About the events
ForestSAT 2022 – Germany
The event promotes the dissemination of spatial analysis technologies, widely used by the Renova Foundation to facilitate cooperation between research organizations, universities, government agencies and the private sector for the purpose of spatial analysis to describe and monitor forest ecosystems.
SERE 2022 – Spain
It is the largest forest restoration conference in Europe, held by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), a leading professional body in the field of ecological restoration that promotes the science, practice and policy of restoration to protect biodiversity, improve adaptation to climate change, mitigate its effects and restore a healthy relationship between nature and society. The European branch of THE society (SERE) brings together hundreds of experts and members of organizations in 37 countries, with affiliated organizations in six of them.
Participation in the ecological restoration of the European Union
During its visit to Europe, the Renova Foundation team was invited to help review the European Union’s ecological restoration policy, by sharing lessons learned and experiences with the restoration work being carried out along the Doce River basin.