The results of Brazilian plantation companies and other actors’ long-term work in the Atlantic rainforest restoration has been highlighted in the WWF, Birdlife and Wildlife Conservation Society report on forest restoration published in May 2021.

The study points to the Atlantic Forest in Brazil as one of the success stories for regeneration, where an estimated 4.2 million hectares – an area roughly the size of the Netherlands – has regrown since 2000. Read the full study here.

Veracel, Stora Enso’s 50/50 joint operation in the Bahía state of Eastern Brazil, consisting of a pulp mill and eucalyptus tree plantations, has been restoring rainforest since 1994. When Veracel started operations in 1991, less than 7% of the original Atlantic rainforest was left in the region following extensive logging and clearing for cattle ranching between the 1950s and 1980s. Veracel’s eucalypts plantations have been established on degraded pasture lands in the Atlantic rainforest biome. Approximately half of Veracel’s 213 000 hectares of land are dedicated to rainforest conservation and restoration. Veracel has restored in total, 7 200 hectares of the Atlantic rainforest – between 1994 and the end of 2020.

Since the plantations were established, Veracel has worked systematically to protect and restore local biodiversity. Veracel’s contribution to the conservation of natural Atlantic rainforest and its rich biodiversity has been recognised by both the Brazilian authorities and international stakeholders.