Case Study: Ecological corridors in ecological networks
This case study is part of the IUCN Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors illustrating initiatives around the world that are working toward maintaining, enhancing, and restoring ecological connectivity. See all case studies here.
Corridors for life: Improving livelihoods and connecting forests in Brazil
By Laury Cullen, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, Brazil
Key lesson
When working with agricultural communities, focusing on multiple benefits of restoring ecological corridors, such as improving livelihoods and obtaining carbon sequestration funding, is vital.
Context and challenge
In Brazil, the largest Atlantic Forest remnants in the interior lie in the Pontal do Paranapanema area of western São Paulo state. Originally a 124,000-ha public forest reserve was designated, but it was progressively encroached upon during 1960–1990 by large-scale ranching and sugarcane establishments. In the mid-1990s, with pressure for land redistribution from the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST) and other groups, many such forests were first occupied by families of MST affiliates and later expropriated for public land reform settlements, dramatically increasing the density of human occupation. After the settlement of many landless households, the pace of land redistribution slowed, and national policies now seek to consolidate existing settlements. Promoting income generation for settlers is urgently needed, as is protecting the remaining fragmented forests within this productive landscape before further pressures ensue. Although agrarian reform settlements and large landowners pose a series of barriers to biodiversity conservation, they also offer important and replicable opportunities for large-scale landscape forest restoration.
Figure 1. IPÊ’s ‘dream map’ for Pontal de Paranapanema uses ecological and property data in order to create the best approach for reforestation efforts. The red polygon contains the largest ecological corridor (1,200 ha) restored in the Atlantic Forest, linking Morro do Diabo State Park and Black Lion Tamarin Ecological Station. © Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas
Approach
The Corridors for Life project focuses on (1) encouraging the adoption of ‘biodiversity-friendly’ land-use options; (2) promoting changes in land-use practices of small- and large- scale farmers in rural fragmented landscapes, and enhancing the adoption of sustainable agriculture and agroforestry
on their lands; (3) improving the farmers’ livelihoods; and (4) providing investors a return in the form of high-quality carbon offsets. Strategically selected areas for agroforestry and restoration will increase habitat viability by means of ecological corridors to increase connectivity between ‘core’ forest fragments, ensuring genetic exchange. Where corridors are not feasible, this exchange will be achieved through developing stepping stones. Agroforestry and restoration will also minimise degradation around biologically important landmarks, including Morro do Diabo State Park, as the main reservoir of populations of key and endangered species. Enlarging and eventually connecting forest fragments are two main goals of reforestation projects. From an ecological perspective, this is essential to maintaining viable populations of flora and fauna and mitigating harmful edge effects, such as exposure to light and wind, diseases and invasive species. The Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ) developed a ‘dream map’ for Pontal de Paranapanema, the extreme western municipality of São Paulo, where the institute was founded. This plan for wide-scale reforestation of the Atlantic Forest takes into consideration information on local properties as well as proximity to public protected areas and existing forest fragments to calculate where reforestation efforts would be most effective (Figure 1, previous page). Among the main project partners are state and federal rural extension agencies, private companies interested in the carbon neutralisation market, companies that produce and commercialise ethanol and sugar, and other national and international electric power holding companies.
Examples of ecological corridors
A conceptual map was used to guide the creation of Brazil’s largest reforestation corridor (Figure 2), which, after ten years of effort, links two main remnants of Atlantic Forest in the Pontal de Paranapanema region. This ecological corridor is approximately 7 km long with average width of 400 m. It was restored entirely on privately owned lands. It is protected by the Law for Protection of Native Vegetation, passed in 2012, with which the Brazilian National Congress revised the ‘old forest code’, as the previous version of the law was known. The 2012 law reaffirms the obligation of private landowners to conserve or restore permanent preservation areas and legal reserves on their properties.
Results
To date, approximately 1,800 ha of forest have been restored in Pontal do Paranapanema. This includes the 1,200 ha of the main ecological corridor, another 600 ha in five smaller corridors and 90 agroforestry stepping stones on rural properties. This project consolidates strategies that represent sustainable livelihood alternatives for communities of the land reform movement in Brazil, replicating good practices and policies in income generation and biodiversity conservation. At the policy level, IPÊ, together with other civil organisations in the region, are influencing policies that affect land use and conservation. By using scientific evidence, cooperating with new settlers and large landowners, and collaborating with state and federal agencies, the program is implementing a land-use framework that promotes sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation over the long term.
Figure 2. Some 2.4 million trees make up IPÊ’s 1,200-ha ecological corridor connecting two main Atlantic Forest fragments, the largest in Brazil. © Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas