The Atlantic Forest stretches from the north-eastern to the southern regions of Brazil and into northern Argentina and south-eastern Paraguay. Five hundred years ago, the Atlantic Forest covered approximately 330 million acres (about twice the size of Texas). Today, less than eight per cent of the forest remains as a result of widespread deforestation, and what remains is highly fragmented. Over the last 50 years, the destruction and degradation of the Atlantic Forest has been as severe as that of the previous three centuries combined.
TreadRight’s support helped protect more than three hectares of forest in priority regions within the Atlantic Forest, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
The mosaics concept essentially views forests as a “puzzle” of different land uses. By carefully planning both productive land use and conservation within the forest, the mosaic strategy helps ensure optimal conservation while permitting productive activities that generate employment and income for the local communities.
A strategy, called the ‘Mosaics of Protected Areas’, was established by Conservation International to strengthen and manage forest ‘mosaics’ (clusters of forest) and create forest corridors that link these mosaics together.
The successful implementation of sustainable forest mosaics is facilitated by the collaboration of a diverse set of stakeholders – from government agencies and landowners to NGOs and partnering companies – brought together to promote land use planning and management practices that are environmentally and economically sound.
The sustainable forest mosaics concept complements ongoing initiatives around sustainable forestry, certification, restoration, conservation, and land use planning. It serves as a conceptual framework, coordinating the work of various initiatives in a coherent, sustainable landscape.
TreadRight, together with a network of organisations around the world, has provided support to Conservation International to carry out the large-scale initiative to protect and effectively manage approximately three million hectares of the Atlantic Forest.