2024 was the hottest year on record and the last decade was the hottest on record, as warned a study released earlier this year by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a leading European observatory on the subject. For the first time, the Earth’s average temperature exceeded the 1.5ºC limit above pre-industrial levels.
According to the study, environmental changes caused by human activities that generate GHGs – Greenhouse Gases such as carbon and equivalent gases such as methane, are still the main cause of extreme air and sea surface temperatures.
By 2023, the same observatory has already warned of temperatures 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels. The unprecedented rise in temperatures has been marked by a series of extreme weather events, from devastating droughts and wildfires to marine heatwaves, signaling an urgent call for action.
Route change
What has been done to reduce the effects of climate change, which could become even more intense if the planet’s temperature rises further? In addition to attempts to make progress at the international level, through the commitment of countries, much can be done on regional and local levels.
IPÊ and other civil society organizations are developing actions that contribute to reducing the effects of climate change. Restoring forest areas is essential in this time of climate emergency. Sustainable land use practices that increase the productivity of those who live in the countryside and also enable nature’s services, such as the absorption of rainwater by the soil, pollination, quality and quantity of water, as well as climate regulation.
The private sector also has the potential to implement more sustainable practices in the production chain, in addition to supporting organizations that act to conserve ecosystems.
Learn in our projects how biodiversity conservation is a priority issue to slow down the effects of climate change.
AMAZÔNIA
LIRA Project – Integrated Legacy of the Amazon Region: Strengthening the Amazon’s sociobiodiversity production chains by valuing the way of life of traditional and indigenous communities potentially contribute to increasing the income of these populations and to join forces in conservating the most biodiverse forest on the planet, contributing to the planet’s climate balance and movmoving towards a just and egalitarian society. LIRA supports climate change mitigation and adaptation and has actions that join forces to reduce deforestation and the consequent carbon storage in the atmosphere, encourage sustainable forest management and strengthen links in the Amazonian production chains.
Navigating Entrepreneurial Education: encouraging entrepreneurship in traditional communities that value the forest and generate income. These communities are true guardians of biodiversity, as they manage to live from the forest without putting it at risk. Promoting the development of sustainable businesses is based on the premise of forest conservation, which ensures that the biome continues to provide ecosystem services such as water, climate regulation, and carbon absorption for all biodiversity—including us, human beings.
Reflora Project – Ecological Recovery and Implementation of Multifunctional Agroforestry Systems: restore degraded areas in the Puranga Conquista Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS), in the Lower Rio Negro region of Manaus. The initiative directly benefits indigenous and riverside communities through biodiversity conservation and income generation.
Reflora uses native Amazonian species, agroforestry systems (a mix of trees with crops such as fruits and vegetables) and the regeneration of secondary forests with the goal of recovering 200 hectares of degraded areas. The project aims to strengthen the economy of the 18 communities in the RDS through environmental restoration, focusing on seed collection, seedling production and connection with forest product markets.
ATLANTIC FOREST
Corridors for Life: The project, which has already planted more than 10 million native seedlings, is based on the three pillars of Climate, Community and Biodiversity. All restoration actions are carried out with the involvement of the community and contribute to the conservation of water resources, fauna and flora. During development, tree seedlings capture carbon and reduce the effects of climate change.
Community Nurseries: Every restoration action has nurseries as essential partners. Until the seedlings are sent to the planting area, a long journey is covered from seed collection, germination and growth of the seedlings. The medium and long-term results of the restoration, such as the return of biodiversity to the area, the protection of watercourses, the absorption of tCO2eq and the provision of ecosystem services are only possible because many people cared for the seeds until they became seedlings capable of facing the adversities of the deforested areas.
Agroforestry Systems: Reduced temperatures are characteristics of AFSs that contribute to the well-being of rural producers, but they are also characteristics of biodiversity that begins to use these areas for safer crossings. Due to the proximity of forest restoration areas, AFSs also favor the dispersal of seeds, the consequent densification of areas and the provision of nature services, such as improved water and air quality and climate regulation.
Prospera Project – Oriented and Sustainable Restoration Project for Ecological Production, Environmental Regeneration and Increased Income: creation of a section of the Central Corridor of the Atlantic Forest, covering the cities of Prado, Porto Seguro and Itamaraju, which crosses private properties, areas with family farming and Indigenous Lands. The initiative supports rural producers in land use planning, aiming to increase productivity, soil quality and water availability on their properties. All of this is possible through ecosystem restoration and productive recovery of a section. Restored ecosystems and sustainable land management practices on private properties will create conditions to maintain ecological functions, gene flow between species, increase resilience and mitigate the impact of climate change and human activities.
| Atlantic Forest Corridor Protected Areas Indigenous Land Municipalities | Priority for Engagement PROSPERA focal landscapes SIRGAS 2000 Datum July/2024 | PROSPERA PROJECT Southern Bahia |
INCAB – LOWLAND TAPIR CONSERVATION INITIATIVE: For 10 years, researchers in the Atlantic Forest compared forest areas used by herbivorous mammals, including the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), and areas to which access by these animals was blocked by exclusion plots (fences). The main result is that the areas used by these animals showed less loss of diversity than the fenced areas, that is, large herbivores play an essential role in slowing down the loss of forest diversity due to their important role as seed dispersers. In this way, they also contribute to climate balance.
Sowing Water: Forest restoration and the implementation of sustainable production systems, such as silviculture, for example, increase landscape connectivity, which benefits the genetic exchange of fauna and flora species and thus the conservation of biodiversity. As these areas are restored, they also begin to capture carbon from the atmosphere. With more sustainable field practices, one of the consequences in the Cantareira System region is the increased resilience of the Cantareira System’s water security, something fundamental in the face of the effects of climate change.
Credit: Leo Eloy
Sustainable Business Unit: The private sector can and should be an agent of change that works together with civil society and the government towards a more sustainable path. Expanding the base of business partners increases our impact – whether in forest restoration, in promoting sustainable production systems or in conserving endangered species – and thus promotes transformative actions for the world we want. We need to engage society in a process of change capable of stopping environmental degradation and restoring areas that need to be recovered.
