In September 2017, in an effort to make good on its commitment to the Paris climate accord, Brazil announced that it would be moving ahead on its ambitious goal of reforesting the Amazon rainforest. The first part of the unprecedented project to restore the rainforest includes planting 73 million trees by 2023 on 30,000 hectares of land (about 74,100 acres). By 2030, Brazil hopes to have reforested 12 million hectares (about 29.6 million acres).
Reversing the assault on the Amazon rainforest:
- The Amazon is home to the richest biodiversity of any ecosystem on Earth. In 2014 and 2015 alone, about 400 new species were discovered there.
- Global demand for natural resources has led to an assault on the rainforest over the years, turning about 29 percent of the original Amazonia forest into pastures and agricultural land for planting crops.
- Forests have great potential to reduce carbon emissions in a cost-effective way. They absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, removing it from the atmosphere.
