The Atlantic Forest is one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots, a flagship of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, & the most degraded Brazilian biome after more than five centuries of exploitation. Its current situation combines both deforestation & forest regeneration simultaneously. This trajectory may lead either to its extinction or to its becoming an example of how to reverse a long history of environmental destruction.
The Atlantic Forest can become a nursery for nature-based solutions, helping to secure ecosystem services for the majority of Brazil’s population & economy, while also providing valuable lessons for the Amazon & other tropical forests around the world in addressing the global climate & biodiversity crisis.