The Wildlife Corridors Program

Your generosity is helping us restore some of South America's most threatened ecosystems while supporting local communities. Despite climate-related challenges, we’re proud to share some major milestones and updates from the field for 2024.

In Argentina, the Misiones Forest Restoration Project made great strides in 2024. Officially recognized by the Chamber of Representatives of Misiones Province, the project’s strategic importance is now more widely acknowledged. On the ground, direct conservation and tree planting interventions were undertaken in133 additional hectares, with over 132,000 native trees planted and 28 nurseries supported.

An extensive study showed that ecological recovery remains challenging: large mammals are still absent from the landscape, and natural regeneration is limited due to habitat fragmentation and invasive species. However, yerba mate agroforestry continues to expand. In 2024, 31 new households joined the project and 55 hectares were planted. A value chain diagnostic exercise laid the foundation for promoting more sustainable and profitable yerba mate production, while training workshops boosted community skills in biodiversity management.

Looking ahead to 2025, the team will complete Phase 1,  restoring a total of 372 hectares and improving the livelihoods of 93 families, while planning for an expanded Phase 2.

This year, the Tietê Forests project in the state of São Paulo, Brazil restored 26 new hectares with over 21,000 native seedlings, pushing the total to more than 615,000 trees planted since the project began. A new fauna survey recorded over 500 bird species and 44 mammals, including several threatened species, showing early signs of biodiversity recovery.

Fourteen new families joined the project in 2024, actively engaging in agroforestry systems. These systems not only reduce pressure on the regenerating forestt but also help farmers grow fruits and vegetables for household consumption and sale. While several barriers were identified in 2024, including demanding physical work, interest remains high, and a new technical handbook is helping support implementation.

Wildfires and drought, exacerbated by El Niño, have damaged 66 hectares since the project began, but restoration teams are steadily replanting these areas. New partnerships are also in the works for 2025 to strengthen livestock-forest models and improve resilience.

Research collaborations and community "mutirões" (collective work events) are helping evaluate impact and build local capacity. Meanwhile, new discussions with project partners Auren Energia and COPROCAM are setting the stage for future expansion.

2024 brought a moment of celebration for the Pontal project, based in the Brazilian Amazon: the first-ever sighting of a jaguar in a restored corridor area! This incredible milestone underscores the impact of long-term forest restoration on wildlife conservation.

Together with IPÊ, we planted 15 hectares last year and maintained 482 more. In total, over 3.1 million native trees have been planted since the beginning of the project, helping restore or conserve over 1,300 hectares of the Atlantic Forest. An ecoacoustic monitoring study, conducted by Wildmon, confirmed that biodiversity is recovering steadily, with restored sites increasingly resembling native forests in sound and structure.

The project continues to generate strong economic benefits for local communities. Thirteen nurseries and 15 local enterprises brought in more than 2 million USD in income this year. New practices, like biodegradable "ecopots", were introduced to improve planting efficiency, and 169 people received training in restoration techniques.

Challenges like seedling survival and stakeholder coordination were met with expanded teams and improved governance. In 2025, the final 5 hectares will be planted, marking the conclusion of this successful 10-year partnership.

Thank you for helping make this all possible. Your support is restoring forests, protecting wildlife, and building a more resilient future for communities across Argentina and Brazil.

Links:

• Wildlife Corridors Programme
• Misiones - Argentina
• Tiete - Brazil

This year, Brazil is experiencing a severe climate situation. Temperatures in August 2024 reached alarming levels, with some regions reporting highs above 40°C (104°F). From January to September 2024, over 109,000 fire outbreaks were recorded nationwide. In the state of São Paulo, where our Brazil projects are located, 7800 outbreaks were detected, representing a nearly 200% increase compared to the previous year. 

The impact of these wildfires is exacerbated by a severe drought influenced by El Niño, which has led to critically low river levels. Many residents are forced to walk long distances along dried riverbeds to access towns, which hampers their ability to sell goods and obtain supplies. 

Despite these challenges, our projects are still on track. In Brazil’s Pontal do Paranapanema, we’re working with IPÊ to restore the forest, bring back wildlife and support communities to make a living from restoring and protecting it. The project is completing ten years of implementation in 2024, and we’re in the process of assessing its impact. In the 2024-2025 planting season which begins in October, 14.7 ha will be planted to bring the project to its overall target of 1319 ha.

At the Tietê river, WeForest and AES Brasil are working to restore the forest on the riverbanks with native species, as well as running an agroforestry programme for smallholder farmers to increase their crop yields while natural resources such as soil and water are improved. These amazing drone pictures were taken by our restoration partner Ceiba and really show our progress: they were taken just two years apart! This restoration site was planted in 2021.

In the 2023/2024 planting season, 8.35 ha of riverside planting took place in Reunidas, a rural settlement; 4.25 ha was planted in the Dandara rural settlement where the agroforestry farmers live; 40 ha was planted on AES landholdings; and a 1.36 ha silvipastoral system was started in Dandara as a pilot. All these new areas are flourishing. Looking ahead, the final 0.5 hectares of the planned 14 hectares of agroforestry will be planted in November or December, coinciding with the start of the rainy season. As for the upcoming 2024/2025 planting season, plans are still being finalized, but it's estimated that 45 to 50 hectares will be planted.

In MIsiones, Argentina, where our restoration with Fundación Vida Silvestre is engaging smallholder farmers to restore farmland into forest patches, all activities are proceeding according to plan. We’ve exceeded our original target to engage 49 farmers, and the new group of 31 farmers is now fully set up. Like the first cohort of 24 farmers recruited in 2022, they’ll devote around 4 ha of farmland each to agroforestry systems to grow a popular cash crop, yerba mate, and the restoration of forest patches.

Two training sessions were provided, one on yerba mate management and harvesting, and the other on soil preparation (below). At the end of July yerba mate planting began, with the field team providing technical support, and in late August and early September the native trees were planted, both for agroforestry and full restoration planting. The team is paying close attention to the weather, as there is potential for frosts during these months.

Thank you for helping to make all this possible!