Brazil has the potential to go beyond forest restoration targets

Late in March, news that a parachutist had scattered 100 million seeds over a destroyed forest area of the Brazilian Amazon did the rounds on social media. The plane jumper was the internationally renowned Luigi Cani, who carried out the apparent feat in partnership with carmaker Audi and investment bank BTG Pactual. “Spectacular!!! A dream for all of us who love nature,” one Instagram user commented on a video Mr. Cani posted of a biodegradable seedbox floating above the Amazon rainforest.

Environmental experts, however, slammed the initiative as nothing more than a greenwashing publicity stunt. “This is marketing, not a technique for forest restoration,” tweeted biologist Jessica Marques.

The eye-catching stunt did indeed smack of an attempt to raise companies’ profiles in the name of ESG (environment, social, and governance) principles. However, done properly, the restoration of degraded areas is a key strategy to countering biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse.

The United Nations designated the period between 2021 and 2030 as the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. As part of the push, Brazil has committed to restoring 12 million hectares of deforested ecosystems by 2030, 4.8 million of which are located in the Amazon.

Paulo Amaral, a senior researcher at NGO Imazon, says this target is insufficient.

According to the NGO, 8 million hectares of land require restoration in the Amazon alone. But there is...