The project led by forestry engineer Pablo Hoffmann won recognition from the British entity Whitley Fund for Nature, which annually celebrates environmental conservation initiatives. The Whitley Prize earned 40,000 pounds (the equivalent of almost R$250,000) to the NGO Sociedade Chauá, which works in the recovery of the araucaria forest.
The forest, which once covered 40% of the territory of Paraná, today occupies only 1%. The project locates and maps these trees, collects seeds and produces seedlings for reforestation.
In an interview with CNN Radio the forest engineer and executive director of Sociedade Chauá explained that there are araucaria species with less than 2,000 individuals, at risk of disappearing in the next five years.
Trees that only exist in some regions of Paraná became the focus of the project, which now has an additional £40,000 (about R$250,000) in its budget. “These resources will be directed to the species that are most in need, in addition to engaging more species, having more people working and increasing the impact of actions to save this ecosystem from extinction,” said Hoffmann.
The executive director of the NGO Sociedade Chauá claims that the uncontrolled expansion of agribusiness remains the main threat to the araucaria forest.
Hoffmann says that most of the deforested areas in Paraná over the last five decades ended up being converted into land for plantations or animal husbandry. “The expansion of agricultural and livestock areas does not allow the regeneration of forests”, says the engineer. “This ends up degrading not only the deforested parts, but also the fragments that remain, which are trapped and without communication with other fragments”, he explains.
The forest engineer recalls that the biome in Paraná has more than 700 species of other plants that play a role in the ecosystem, responsible for pollination and climate balance.
Source: CNN Brasil
