Carbon removal through afforestation in São Paulo, Brazil

Context

Afforestation, the strategic planting of trees on previously underutilised or mismanaged land, stands as a critical response to the ongoing degradation of our ecosystems and the persistent threat of deforestation.

The shift from extensive cattle ranching to afforestation is driven by an essential need to address these pressing environmental challenges. It offers a multifaceted solution by countering deforestation, mitigating soil degradation, and providing a sustainable path forward in the face of mounting ecological concerns.

A key finding of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) new special report is that it is likely that some degree of “afforestation” will be needed to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels

Project

The Fazenda Sâo Paulo Agroforestry project is an afforestation project that aims to plant more than 286 hectares of degraded grassland with the species Eucalyptus uro-grandis (a hybrid of E. urophylla and E. grandis species). The project area is located in the Municipality of Campo Grande in the centre of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The project is based on changing the use of the land from extensive, low-productivity cattle ranching (where grass was regularly burned to encourage the regrowth of degraded grassland) to a sustainable forest growth system. The project also promotes the remnant natural savanna restoration of the Project Zone. The set of areas planted with Eucalyptus and the areas of regenerated savannah will form a typical mosaic-shaped landscape that guarantees the protection of the soil and the recovery of an ecosystem typical of the “Cerrado” biome, the world’s most biodiverse tropical moist savannah.

Verification

Climate solution

Tree plantations on degraded land

As of 2018, 294.1 million hectares of land were used for tree plantations on degraded land. Establishing tree plantations on an additional 112–174 million hectares of marginal lands can sequester 22.04–35.09 gigatons of carbon dioxide by 2050. The use of marginal lands for afforestation also indirectly avoids deforestation that otherwise would be done in the conventional system. At an initial cost of US$91.89–141.68 billion and lifetime operational cost of US$157.74-–243.37 billion to implement, this additional area of timber plantations could produce a lifetime net profit of US$2.05–3.17 trillion.

From drawdown.org

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The 'Fazenda Sao Paulo Afforestation, Brazil' project aligns with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.
Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.