In his pickup truck, biologist Haroldo Gomes, who holds a master\u2019s degree in agronomy, carries a small forest: ip\u00eas (Handroanthus spp.), aroeiras (Myracrodruon urundeuva) and guarant\u00e3s (Esenbeckia leiocarpa) are some of the nearly 70 native Atlantic Forest species<\/a> looking for a place to take root.<\/p>\n There was a time when Haroldo\u2019s family, too, had no land. \u201cWhen we arrived at the encampment, I was 11,\u201d said Gomes, the son of land reform settlers. \u201cDuring the conflicts, we lived for six years in a makeshift tent. I\u2019ve run from gunfire during land occupations.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, Haroldo serves as field coordinator for the Corridors of Life project<\/a> at the Institute for Ecological Research (IP\u00ca). Through the initiative, both he and a diversity of native plant and animal species have found a place to call home. Since 2002, the project \u2014 driven by land reform families \u2014 has restored more than 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres), with 10 million trees planted.<\/p>\n The ambitions ahead are even greater: By 2041, the group aims to restore 75,000 hectares (185,000 acres) of priority conservation areas across 30 municipalities in S\u00e3o Paulo \u2014 an area roughly the size of New York City.<\/p>\n According to Laury Cullen Jr., general coordinator of Corridors for Life, as much as 250,000 hectares (618,000 acres) of land degraded over the past 4-5 decades could still be recovered. \u201cThese areas should be forest again, but they aren\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Traveling dirt roads and advising those doing the planting is part of Haroldo\u2019s routine. He has been with IP\u00ca for 24 years. It is a race against discouraging numbers: \u201cToday, only 8% of native vegetation remains in the Pontal [do Paranapanema region, in S\u00e3o Paulo]. There are municipalities with less than 2% forest cover,\u201d he told Mongabay.<\/p>\n The historical context helps explain the damage. The Pontal do Paranapanema region,<\/a> spanning 32 municipalities in the far western corner of S\u00e3o Paulo state, was heavily deforested in the early 20th century. Part of this history is tied to the Sorocabana Railway<\/a>, which transported coffee production and timber extracted from across the state. Years later, the railway also opened the way for land-grabbers to seize remaining lands, echoing a pattern seen in parts of the Amazon affected by major infrastructure projects<\/a>.<\/p>\n As rural lands were carved up and reassigned, whatever stood in the way was pushed aside \u2014 both biodiversity and Indigenous peoples in the region, including the Kaiow\u00e1<\/a> and the Kaingang<\/a>. Meanwhile, cattle herds advanced and monoculture spread, occupying even state-owned lands. By the mid-20th century, in the Pontal region \u2014 the final stop of the Sorocabana line \u2014 only 1.8% of forest cover remained.<\/p>\n Decades later, in the 1990s, the same insecure land tenure context helped spark social movements in the Pontal. To this day, the region holds the largest concentration of agrarian reform settlements in S\u00e3o Paulo state.<\/p>\n Data from the Instituto de Terras do Estado de S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a> (Itesp), S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s state land agency, show that the Pontal includes 98 state-run settlements totaling more than 120,000 hectares (296,500 acres), as well as 23 federally administered settlements covering another 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres). The distinction is administrative: federal settlements are overseen by the Instituto Nacional de Coloniza\u00e7\u00e3o e Reforma Agr\u00e1ria (INCRA<\/a>), Brazil\u2019s agrarian reform agency, while state settlements are managed by state governments.<\/p>\n Among newly planted native species such as canaf\u00edstulas (Peltophorum dubium) and paineiras (Ceiba speciosa), biologist Edmilson Bispo says he was born for \u201ca green life\u201d. The son of land reform settlers, he comes from a lineage of farmers in Brazil\u2019s Northeast<\/a>, which taught him to live with uncertainty in the fields. Some harvests were profitable; others were undone by weather or market swings. Often, the profit from one crop had to offset the losses of the next.<\/p>\n In reforestation, Edmilson said he found greater stability. \u201cHere, if we do things right, I can plan the income I\u2019ll have at the end.\u201d Now, Edmilson and his brother, Jos\u00e9 do Carmo, run Bispo Ecological Restoration Services, a company that began with three employees and now counts 10.<\/p>\n Their firm is part of a network of 21 local businesses known as \u201crural startups,\u201d which handle planting and maintenance for the Corridors of Life project, most of which were founded by settlers or the children of land reform families. The teams received technical and management training, brought their operations in line with labor regulations and now also work for other clients.<\/p>\n At Categer\u00f3 Farm, in the municipality of Teodoro Sampaio, Edmilson and Jo\u00e3o do Carmo\u2019s team planted 170 hectares (420 acres) of forest in less than three years. The area will form part of an ecological corridor, launched in 2022, that aims to reach 550 hectares (1,360 acres), linking a permanent preservation area (APP) along the Cuiab\u00e1 stream \u2014 a legally protected area set aside to conserve native vegetation and water resources \u2014 to Morro do Diabo State Park<\/a>, which protects important remnants of the Atlantic Forest.<\/p>\n \u201cMy grandfather used to tell many stories. There was a time here in the Pontal when the mindset was to clear the forest,\u201d Edmilson recalled. \u201cToday, we see how much that has changed.\u201d With the quiet pride of someone who has shaped his own path, he spoke about the house he recently bought in Teodoro Sampaio. \u201cIt\u2019s like a smallholding, with orange trees. My two boys play in the yard at home.\u201d<\/p>\n Forest recovery is also boosting the local economy. The Corridors of Life project currently employs 342 people across technical teams, community nurseries and restoration businesses. IP\u00ca estimates that more than 2,000 people \u2014 most of them from land reform settlements \u2014 have been trained in agroecology, restoration and seed collection.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the benefits are gradually taking root across the community. In May 2024, through agreements with IP\u00ca, Maria Nazar\u00e9 da Silva Montemor, president of the Cooperative of Women Settlers of Mirante do Paranapanema<\/a> (Coperamas), delivered more than 120 hectares (300 acres) of restored forest to the municipality that bears the organization\u2019s name.<\/p>\n A community leader since 1995, Nazar\u00e9 helped form a group that later became the Association of Women Settlers (Amas) and was twice elected to the city council in Mirante do Paranapanema. During her terms, she focused on youth education and on milk production and marketing, key sources of income in the settlements.<\/p>\n Since childhood, Nazar\u00e9 knew how to plant, but her body was not yet used to the steep terrain slated for restoration. Nor was she prepared for the tenacity of brachiaria, a pasture grass that spreads aggressively in rain or sun. Faced with tight deadlines to deliver the restored hectares, she hired tractor services and brought in other women to help. \u201cOne woman gives strength to another,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n As trees returned to the landscape, local commerce also began to grow. Coperamas\u2019 tractor, for instance, started being used to improve pastures and secure feed for cattle, helping boost milk production and income for settler families. \u201cThe drop fell and spread,\u201d Nazar\u00e9 said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t create wealth for just one person \u2014 it generated benefits for many and blossomed.\u201d<\/p>\n In Teodoro Sampaio, 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Mirante do Paranapanema, the creation of a community nursery reshaped the future of the Ribeir\u00e3o Bonito settlement. With profits from seedling sales, local volunteer Valdomiro de Castro das Merc\u00eas, known as Miro, purchased an ambulance to serve settlement families.<\/p>\n On lands once set aside for cattle pasture on the former ranch that is now the Ribeir\u00e3o Bonito settlement, small forest patches stand out across the landscape. We visited one of Aline dos Santos Souza\u2019s favorite spots, a member of IP\u00ca\u2019s technical team.<\/p>\n According to her, \u201cthe settlements brought ecological diversity to what used to be only intensive cattle ranching [which concentrates many animals in small areas].\u201d<\/p>\n These forest fragments are particularly useful for short-distance birds, such as different species of toucans and macaws, which move between patches and help disperse seeds<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jo\u00e3o Maria de Souza, author of Memorial Teodoro Sampaio: Nossa Terra, Nossa Hist\u00f3ria, Nossa Geografia<\/a> (Teodoro Sampaio Memorial: Our Land, Our History, Our Geography), echoed this view. \u201cYou used to see vast areas with a few heads of cattle and very few people to manage them. Today, you see multiple settlements with families working, generating income and producing food. That has changed the landscape of the Pontal do Paranapanema,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Dairy farming still accounts for 95% of settlement income. However, alternative livelihoods have been gaining ground, such as the so-called caf\u00e9 com floresta (coffee with forest). In this agroforestry system, trees protect coffee crops, which in turn enrich the soil and contribute to ecological balance.<\/p>\n Marilene Lima Santana was among the first settlers to adopt agroforestry. Today her home is shaded by a grove of native trees, where lemon, lychee, orange, jackfruit and cashew grow \u2014 and, of course, coffee, which yields five sacks per harvest and brings the family together around the table.<\/p>\n \u201cI harvest the coffee I drink. I\u2019m drinking my agroforestry coffee,\u201d celebrated the settler, the daughter of migrants from Sergipe.<\/p>\n Marilene\u2019s home also has its own vegetable garden, supplying her children\u2019s meals with produce grown and fertilized using compost made right in the backyard \u2014 a mix of dry leaves and animal manure.<\/p>\n Francisco Gomes de Deus, father of biologist Haroldo, has also adopted agroforestry in Mirante do Paranapanema. At five in the morning, Seu Chiquinho, as he is known, milks seven cows and then heads to the coffee plot, where he picks only ripe cherries, one by one. The careful work yields about 400 kilograms per harvest \u2014 enough for the family\u2019s coffee, with the surplus sold to IP\u00ca.<\/p>\n Among the coffee rows, taller trees provide shade and moisture, while jata\u00ed bees (Tetragonisca angustula) act as pollinators<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey ran soil tests \u2014 the land has already recovered, it\u2019s restored here,\u201d Chiquinho said. \u201cI come here and feel at peace harvesting. I forget about life. And I thank God.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking about purchasing surplus coffee from settlers, IP\u00ca director Eduardo Ditt emphasizes community autonomy. \u201cThe idea is not to create a relationship of dependence, but to provide training so settlers learn about agroecology and agroforestry systems and can run the business on their own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mapping the forest<\/p>\n The movement now taking root across the Pontal do Paranapanema began with a small animal that nearly vanished from the wild: the black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus). In the 1970s, when the species was no longer being seen in the forest, the Black Lion Tamarin Conservation Program<\/a> was created \u2014 and has been coordinated by IP\u00ca ever since.<\/p>\n From that program emerged the Corridors of Life project, whose actions are guided by a detailed territorial study known as \u201cMapa dos Sonhos<\/a>\u201d (Map of Dreams), which identifies where the forest needs to be replanted.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Map of Dreams was developed from a combination of land tenure data obtained from Itesp, which provided spatial maps with information on rural properties across the Pontal do Paranapanema region,\u201d said Alexandre Uezu, research coordinator at IP\u00ca.<\/p>\n \u201cWith these data, IP\u00ca mapped forest areas, springs, rivers and APPs, calculating the environmental liabilities of each property. Based on landscape criteria, priority areas were then identified to restore and reconnect forest fragments.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently, 45 rural landowners take part in the project, restoring legally required areas under Brazil\u2019s Forest Code, which regulates how much native vegetation must be preserved or restored on private rural properties, and helping form ecological corridors<\/a>.<\/p>\n In fact, much of the biome\u2019s regeneration occurs on privately owned land. According to data from SOS Mata Atl\u00e2ntica<\/a>, a Brazilian nonprofit focused on Atlantic Forest conservation, released in October 2025, private properties account for 45% of the total Atlantic Forest area restored between 1993 and 2022.<\/p>\n On the other hand, data from MapBiomas<\/a>, a collaborative initiative that uses satellite data to track land-use and vegetation changes across Brazil, indicate that over the past decade, the balance between forest gains and losses in the biome has remained at zero. In 2024, half of the deforestation recorded in the Atlantic Forest affected mature forests \u2014 more than 40 years old \u2014 causing more severe impacts on biodiversity and carbon storage.<\/p>\n \u201cFor wildlife to truly return and rebuild communities similar to those found in natural forests, it takes around 15-20 years. But it varies widely,\u201d said IP\u00ca researcher Carolina B\u00edscola. \u201cWe recorded the first jaguar in restored areas only last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Within reforested areas, conservation programs have identified 174 bird species and 29 mammal species \u2014 five of them threatened with extinction, including the black lion tamarin. The jaguar\u2019s reappearance in 2024 is a promising sign, but the challenge extends far beyond the Pontal.<\/p>\n Highly threatened<\/a>, the Atlantic Forest is the Brazilian biome with the least remaining native vegetation and today retains less than one-third of its original cover. The expansion of sugarcane cultivation is one of the drivers of this loss<\/a>: an estimated 66% of Brazil\u2019s sugarcane plantations are located within the biome. Data from the National Supply Company<\/a> (CONAB), the federal agency that monitors agricultural production and supply, show that more than half of the country\u2019s total production comes from S\u00e3o Paulo state.<\/p>\n Far beyond rebuilding forests, the sustainable initiatives underway in western S\u00e3o Paulo seek to restore the relationship between people and the territory where they live, according to those involved.<\/p>\n The work of settler families \u2014 and the meeting point between scientific research and hands-on practice \u2014 also forms a foundation for transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for regeneration.<\/p>\n \u201cConservation work is long-term. You need to become part of a region and its community and look at the landscape as a whole,\u201d said Claudio Padua, co-founder of IP\u00ca. \u201cGoing there, conducting research and leaving achieves nothing. You need to belong.\u201d<\/p>\n General coordinator Laury, in turn, looks ahead with optimism: \u201cIn 25 years, we will have achieved 6,000 hectares of reforestation. Of those, half occurred in the last three years.\u201d For him, the ambitious goal of 75,000 hectares is, above all, \u201cachievable.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image: A nursery worker displays seedlings used in reforestation efforts in the Pontal do Paranapanema region, S\u00e3o Paulo state. Image by Sib\u00e9lia Zanon.<\/p>\n CITATION<\/p>\n Da Silva, L. G., dos Santos, S., & Moraes, F. (2015). FRAGMENTA\u00c7\u00c3O DA MATA ATL\u00c2NTICA DE INTERIOR: AN\u00c1LISE DE PAISAGEM DO CORREDOR VERDE SUL-AMERICANO E FLORESTAS DO ALTO PARAN\u00c1.\u00a0Boletim De Geografia,\u00a032(3), 61 \u2013 68. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4025\/bolgeogr.v32i3.21881.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_0555.jpeg\")
Seedlings for reforestation amid sugarcane fields. Image by Sib\u00e9lia Zanon.
\nScars on the landscape<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_0405.jpeg\")
Dirt road in the Pontal do Paranapanema region, S\u00e3o Paulo state. Image by Sib\u00e9lia Zanon.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Haroldo-mapa-sonhos.jpeg\")
Haroldo explains the environmental restoration work carried out by IP\u00ca. Image by Sib\u00e9lia Zanon.
\nRural startups<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/edmilson.jpeg\")
Edmilson with seedlings used in reforestation efforts. Image by Sib\u00e9lia Zanon.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Morro-do-Diabo.jpg\")
A road through the forest in Morro do Diabo State Park, S\u00e3o Paulo state. Image by IP\u00ca archive.
\nBenefits for the community<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_0554.jpeg\")
A tractor prepares land for seedling planting. Image by Sib\u00e9lia Zanon.
\nBiodiversity gains <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_0352.jpeg\")
IP\u00ca team members show seedlings for reforestation initiative. Image by IP\u00ca archive.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/chiquinho1.jpeg\")
Farmer Chiquinho harvests coffee in Mirante do Paranapanema, S\u00e3o Paulo state. Image by Sib\u00e9lia Zanon.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/RAE04Cullen_20db_055.jpg\")
IP\u00ca specialists analyze maps of the Pontal do Paranapanema region. Image by IP\u00ca archive.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/RAE04Cullen_20db_069.jpg\")
Aerial view of the Pontal do Paranapanema region, S\u00e3o Paulo state. Image courtesy of IP\u00ca archive.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774998796_542_870a95eb3583fff7607c23be4b8b425f9a2fb10578f8fea548b6029b4d934951.png\")
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