Brazil is home to some of the planet’s largest areas of tropical forest, but they are under intense pressure. The Atlantic Forest, on the country’s eastern coast, once covered 350 million acres, but today only 12% of it remains, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The Amazon rainforest, which lies mostly in Brazil and is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, has lost almost 20% of forest cover in the last 50 years.
Re.green, a Brazilian ecological restoration company, wants to restore these lost forests in a financially viable way –– and it’s relying heavily on technology to do so. Last week, the company won the prestigious Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince Willliam, in the “protect and restore nature” category. Jason Knauf, CEO of the prize, told CNN via email, this was due to “the transformative way in which it harnesses cutting-edge technology to bring tropical forests back to life.”
First, the startup uses AI algorithms to analyze scientific data and satellite imagery to pinpoint the best areas across the Amazon and Atlantic forests to implement restoration projects, such as degraded land with low productivity. It then acquires the land, either buying it or leasing it for periods of 50 years or more from farmers and cattle ranchers.
The algorithms then prescribe from more than a dozen restoration models, recommending certain reforestation techniques according to the environment. This could be anything from intensive planting operations in areas that are accessible to machinery to a more hands-off natural regeneration approach in other locations, Thiago Picolo, CEO of re.green, told CNN.
The company plants seedlings from native species to restore degraded land. – re.green
In remote areas with little infrastructure, the startup uses drones for most of the agricultural operations, such as planting seeds. All sites are restored with diverse, native species –– often grown at Bioflora, a tree nursery that re.green acquired in 2021 (the same year the company was founded), which has the capacity to grow 2 million seedlings a year.
“Regardless of which method we use, the end goal is always the same: a fully restored, fully functioning tropical forest as close as possible to the primary forest that existed before the deforestation took place,” said Picolo.
Monetizing reforestation
The algorithms also provide a financial model for the area based on the price re.green paid for the land and the estimated amount of carbon it can sequester from the atmosphere over time, which helps the company decide how to monetize it, to pay for its restoration.
One option is sustainable forestry. Picolo explained that in some areas, rather than planting a diverse forest of dozens of species, it will plant just 5 to 10 native species that can be harvested 20 or so years later as high-value timber, for furniture or flooring. “It allows us to get a higher return than we would otherwise, and it’s particularly useful and necessary for mechanizable areas with good access to infrastructure — those areas are more expensive, so we need more financial models in order to make that return stand up,” he said.
A restoration project in the Amazon rainforest. – re.green
The other option is that by turning degraded land into forests, it can generate carbon credits that companies can buy to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. While carbon credit schemes more widely have been criticized due to a lack of transparency and accountability, Picolo said that re.green’s scheme has clear “additionality” — meaning that it can clearly show that the reforestation in the area wouldn’t have been done otherwise — and its calculations around how much carbon is being sequestered are verified by independent auditors before credits are issued.
This year, re.green agreed to sell nearly 3.5 million tons of carbon removal credits to Microsoft, in a deal that will see it restore 33,000 hectares (82,000 acres) of forest –– adding to a similar agreement made in 2024 for 3 million tons. It has also partnered with Nestlé to restore 2,000 hectares (4,940 acres) of Atlantic Forest in Southern Bahia.
Restoring forests is capital intensive and making it financially viable is crucial, said Picolo. “A tropical forest provides a lot of value for us in society, a lot of value for asset owners. It’s our job to find those assets that can be monetized, and therefore to increase the profitability –– and by increasing profitability we can scale faster.”
Re.green is hoping to have fundraised $60 million by the end of 2025, to scale its AI and satellite technology. It believes that the Earthshot Prize will help to accelerate this by increasing visibility, facilitating partnerships with large corporations, and contributing to research and development.
So far, the company has planted more than 6 million seedlings across 30,000 hectares in four Brazilian States. By 2032, it wants to have planted 65 million seedlings.
Knauf noted that “scalability and replicability of solutions” is integral to how the Earthshot Prize council members choose its winners. “Re.green has ignited a wave of transformation through its pioneering, innovative technology,” he said, adding that he hopes the win will support the company “to build a new economic sector for large-scale ecological restoration.”
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