permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Permaculture/comments/bg1ome/this_makes_me_smile/?st=jutf2n1a&sh=e781fc41

A couple decided to rebuild their deserted piece of land of 600 hectares in
Aimorés, Brazil. They planted more than 2 million tree saplings. As a
result, the site has 293 plant species, 172 bird species and 33 animal
species, some of which were on the verge of extinction. Took 18 years.
submitted 20 hours ago by GallowBoob
<https://www.reddit.com/user/GallowBoob>

The Instituto Terra
http://www.institutoterra.org/eng/index.php
<https://i.redd.it/ax0n4atpjst21.jpg>


http://www.institutoterra.org/eng/conteudosLinks.php?id=22&tl=QWJvdXQgdXM=&sb=NQ==#.XL6y6qIuiSo
About us - The Instituto Terra


*T**he dream of planting a forest in Brazil gave birth to the Instituto
Terra.*

*Ricardo Beliel*
[image: Foto: Ricardo Beliel]This project is the result of an ambitious
initiative taken in the late 1990s by Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado and
Sebastião Salgado. Confronting environmental devastation in and around a
former cattle ranch bought from Sebastião Salgado’s family near the town of
Aimorés, in Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais, they decided to return the
property to its natural state of subtropical rainforest. They recruited
partners, raised funds and, in April 1998, they founded the Instituto
Terra, an environmental organization dedicated to the sustainable
development of the Valley of the River Doce.

Since then, the couple’s dream has already borne much fruit. Thanks to the
work of the Instituto Terra, which has now been declared a Private Natural
Heritage Reserve (PNHR), some 17,000 acres of deforested and badly eroded
land in a broad stretch of the Valley of the River Doce have undergone a
remarkable metamorphosis. More than four million seedlings of the multiple
species native to Brazil's Atlantic Forest have been raised in the
institute’s own nursery. Those plants are now reforesting what was long
known as the Salgado family’s Fazenda Bulcão, or Bulcão Farm, and are also
contributing to similar environmental restoration programs in surrounding
areas.

Once in a state of advanced natural degradation, this former cattle ranch
has been transformed into a fertile woodland, alive with flora and fauna
which for millenniums had made the Atlantic Forest one of the world’s most
important repositories of natural species. The experience shows that, with
the return of vegetation, water again flows from natural springs and
Brazilian animal species at risk of extinction have again found a safe
refuge.

......

*Our Story*
[image: Foto: Weverson Rocio]
Weverson Rocio

Founded in April 1998, the Instituto Terra is a community non-profit
non-governmental organization that operates in the whole territory of the
Valley of the River Doce between the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito
Santo. It is a region that for centuries has suffered from rampant
deforestation and uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, notably
iron ore. The resulting droughts and severe land erosion have also had a
devastating impact on the living conditions of the region’s rural
population.

The institute has defined its objectives as restoration of the ecosystem,
production of Atlantic Forest seedlings, environmental outreach programs,
environmental education and applied scientific research.

The Instituto Terra manages the 1,754-acre Bulcão Farm, 1,502 acres of
which have been declared a Private Natural Heritage Reserve. It is the
first such PNHR in a ravaged area of the Atlantic Forest. Inspired by
Bulcão Farm’s success as a pilot project, in 2004 the state of Minas Gerais
established the category of the Private Reserve for Environmental
Restoration (PRER) to encourage other private property owners to follow
suit.

With the reforestation of the Bulcão Farm, where the first planting took
place in December 1999, the Instituto Terra is nearing completion of
recovery of a single uninterrupted section of the Atlantic Forest. This is
an unprecedented achievement in modern Brazil.