15 minutes in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
Tune in to April’s edition of MORFO’s Newsletter
Dear Morfollowers,
Let’s start this newsletter with a 15-minute documentary. The American show Wild Hope, released today, features our great partner ITPA and us, MORFO. Its 21st episode introduces the life of Mauricio Ruiz, the founder of ITPA. In Brazil's Atlantic Forest, Mauricio leads a community effort to reforest vital areas with 15 million trees. The episode showcases ITPA's work and also demonstrates how, thanks to MORFO’s technology, Mauricio aims to accelerate the reforestation process by 50 times, all while involving citizens in preparing and monitoring newly forested areas.
We are really grateful to the American award-winning Tangled Bank studio for shining the spotlight on our two organizations. Today, there's no better way to spend 15 minutes than by watching this episode.
Pascal, Co-founder of MORFO
🫂 WEBINAR: Integrating local communities
Wild Hope's documentary shows an example of MORFO's collaboration with a local organization, a subject we work on every day. In fact, to take things further, we're hosting a webinar on May 24. Featuring as speakers: Bruno Gomes, Katherine Sinacore, Cibele Santana and Emira Cherif.
Topic issue: Many organizations aim for a balance between maximizing environmental, economic, and social benefits. However integrating local communities into restoration efforts remains a critical yet often challenging aspect.
[Webinar in English]
💸 WEBINAR: Financing forest restoration
Dont miss out on an extraordinary lineup of speakers at our other webinar scheduled for the end of May, featuring Brazilian National Secretary for Climate Change Ana Toni, renown Professor Carlos Nobre, BDNES Deputy Managing Director Nabil Kadri, and CEO of MORFO Brazil Gregory Maitre.
Topic issue: With 6 months to go before the G20 in Rio and 18 months to go before COP30 in Belém, our speakers will share with you the immense challenges of financing the restoration of the Amazon. They will also share some examples of current financing projects and their expectations for the coming months.
[Webinar in Portuguese]
🦺 On the field
This month, our team was deep in the Amazon rainforest, restoring on behalf of one of our clients. Yan, one of our restoration project managers in Brazil, presented our innovative technology to representatives from the Pará State Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainability. Gaining the support of the government is a major achievement for MORFO and holds great promise for its future endeavors.
🥜 Seed of the month: Caroba
🅰️ Seed name: Caroba
🔬 Scientific Name: Copaifera langsdorffii
🌳 Parent Tree: Copaiba Tree, from the Jacarandá-Copaia lineage of the Copaifera genus.
🌎 Origin: Native to South America, particularly abundant in the Amazon Rainforest and Atlantic Forest regions.
💪 Role: Plays a crucial role in the Brazilian restoration and economic industries. Rejuvenates degraded ecosystems. Produces copaiba oil, which has been used for centuries by indigenous tribes for its various medicinal properties.
🤎 Fun Fact: Represents a symbol of hope for ecological regeneration and sustainable development in the diverse landscapes of South America.
🔍 Our recommendations
This analysis of over 200 projects concluded that only 12% of tree planting projects for carbon credits plant more than 10 species.
Tropical primary forest loss decreased by 9% in 2023, but there’s still 10 soccer fields of forest lost every minute.
Birds can increase the carbon storage of regeneration tropical forest by up to 38%.
Biodiversity funding requires a 5x increase, representing $700 billion annually. A number equivalent to the amount spent on advertising worldwide each year.
🗓️ Let’s meet in the next months
We're thrilled to announce our presence at a lineup of prestigious events. Don't miss the chance to connect with us. Simply reply to this newsletter to schedule a meeting.
Brazil Climate Summit Europe (Paris, France) - May 27th
SOBRE (Juazeiro and Petrolina, Brazil) - July 8th to 12th
NYC Climate Week (New York City, USA) - September 22nd to 29th
Biodiversity Cop16 (Cali, Colombia) - October 21st to November 1st
G20 Summit (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - November 18th and 19th
🫵 Your opportunity to help MORFO!
According to UNEP, investments in forest restoration must double by 2050. To do that, we need your help: nominate MORFO for the 2024 Champions of the Earth award!
Let's make a difference together! Simply fill out this form before May 5th:
🌍 Thank you for reading this newsletter until the end! If you enjoyed it, please share it with your audience, friends, or colleagues. To check us out and follow our social media platforms, please click here!
We'll be back again in May!
The MORFO team