World Rainforest Day - 2. Tropical Rainforests - The Atlantic Forest,

The Golden Lion Tamarin - Leontopicuthus rosalia is one of the Atlantic Forest's many unique and highly endangered inhabitants

 -Thank you to Guppiecat for this photo

The Atlantic Forest 

I must confess I hadn't even heard of the Atlantic Forest before I started writing about rainforests. This could be because it had almost ceased to exist. After decades of logging, land clearing for agriculture and urban expansion, there was only around 12% of it left, with the remainder being highly fragmented. This is a shame because after the Amazon it is the world's second richest biodiversity hotspot. It runs along the east coast of South America from Brazil to Paraguay and Argentina and covers approximately 15 different eco -regions including tropical rainforests.

Having evolved separately and earlier than the Amazon, it contains thousands of unique species - one in fourteen plants and one in twenty of our known animals, including the golden lion tamarin and the brown throated sloth. Of its 1023 types of birds, over 200 are endemic - which means they aren't found anywhere else. It also has 475 amphibians of which over half  only exist there.

Despite having lost more forest than any other region – heroic efforts are underway to bring it back from the brink.

🌳 Atlantic Forest in 2025: A Snapshot

📍 Status	✨ Features
Once covered ~1 000 000–1 500 000 km²; today only ~12 % remains (85 %+ lost). Highly fragmented—most patches < 50 ha, threatening wide-ranging fauna. Spans 3 000 km from NE Brazil into Paraguay & NE Argentina.	Biodiversity hotspot: ~20 000 plant species (40 % endemic). Icons: golden lion tamarin & brown-throated sloth among 2 000+ vertebrates. Provides water security for 150 M people; stores 223–460 t C/ha.
⚠️ Threats	🌱 Conservation Measures
Agricultural & cattle expansion (soy, coffee, sugarcane). Urban sprawl (Rio, São Paulo), pollution & water-course degradation. Illegal logging, fuelwood harvesting & wildlife poaching/trade.	The Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact  comes into being in Brazil to restore 15 million ha of forest. In 2018 it extends to neighbouring countries Paraguay and Argentina  as the Trinational Atlantic Forest Pact: with plans to restore 1 million ha. and create 1 million green jobs by 2030 It has planted 840 000 trees and has restored 607 ha. Protected-area expansion: +20 % (2000–2015) across Brazil, Argentina & Paraguay. It receives grants (2002–2011):  and adds 100,000 ha to protected areas. REDD+ projects which help developing countries to restore degraded lands allow more to be added (e.g. Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Conservation Limeira Project – Verra; Atlantic Rainforest Conservation Project  IDRECCO) mobilize carbon finance for local stewardship. In 2022 it is recognised as a flagship restoration project by the UN

Bringing Back a Forest

 In 2009 some 360 organisations in Brazil made up of companies, farmers, researchers and NGOs combined to create The Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact with the aim of restoring 15 million hectares of forest previously lost to logging, agriculture and urban expansion by 2050. 

In 2018  it became part of the “Trinational Atlantic Forest Pact” -a  transboundary alliance spanning Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, to support both national and cross-border efforts. in 2022 it gained UN recognition  as World Heritage Restoration Flagship program. This aimed to restore 1 million ha. across all three countries by 2030 and to create 1 million green jobs in the process. It focussed on using native species,  creating wildlife corridors, securing water supplies – important for nature and future resilience against climate change as well as large cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and allowed ing some areas to simply grow back naturally. 

Recognising that planting trees alone is not enough without ensuring livelihoods for the those who live there, it is integrating trees with crops and livestock to restore land and provide livelihoods for local people. To this end it has favoured community – led projects with emphasis on supporting women and utilising traditional knowledge. 

It also created a number of additional protected areas 

Protected Area	Designation Date	Highlights
Serra Verde do Piripiri National Park (PR)	Feb 2019	• 4 200 ha of montane Atlantic Forest • Key corridor between Guarani Aquifer and Iguaçu region
Boqueirão da Onça National Park (PR)	Apr 2019	• 118 000 ha of interior forest • Protects headwaters feeding the Paraná River
Vale do Rio Doce Ecological Station (MG)***	Jul 2021 (expanded)	• Expansion added 2 500 ha of high-end Atlantic Forest • Safeguards rare bromeliads & birds-of-paradise
Mata da Fazenda São Francisco RDS (RJ)	Dec 2022	• 1 200 ha private reserve co-managed by local communities • Focus on sustainable agroforestry and ecotourism
Lagamar de Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe APA (SP)	Mar 2023 (extended)	• APA extension added 50 000 ha of coastal Atlantic Forest & mangroves • Critical nesting sites for green and leatherback turtles

***Note: Vale do Rio Doce Ecological Station originally created in 1987; listed here only for its 2021 federal expansion adding new Atlantic Forest coverage.

Some Successes 

• Having successfully restored 700,000 ha by 2023, The Trinational Forest Pact is now aiming for 50 million ha.by 2050

• The Jaguar population has already increased by 160% in Upper Parané
  
  
• There is cleaner water and some farmers are gaining organic certification   
     
• Some municipalities in Brazil are receiving payments for ecosystem services 
  
  
• The Atlantic Forest is now being hailed as a carbon sink with several companies seeking to invest 

Thanks to Microsoft Copilot on these posts, especially with graphics and tables. 

Next up: The Mesoamerican Forests and Chocό -Darien  - I'll be keeping these fairly short because there is a lot of ground to cover and others have done so far more eloquently. Just click on any of the links for more.