Agreement for ecological restoration with job and income generation in the Legal Amazon was signed this Wednesday (13) by the president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard and the president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Aloizio Mercadante. The protocol of intentions foresees the investment of R$100 million over the next five years, of which R$50 million will come from the Amazon Fund. 
The objective of Restaura Amazônia is to expand the impact of projects selected in public notices and restore around 15 thousand hectares of native vegetation. The program operates in the states of Amazonas, Acre, Rondônia, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Pará and Maranhão, reaching strategic territories – such as the so-called Arc of Deforestation, aiming to transform it into the Arc of Restoration. The first of these notices will be published later this year.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) will also contribute to containing deforestation and conserving biodiversity in indigenous lands, territories of traditional peoples and communities, conservation units, non-designated public areas and APPs and legal reserves of areas of settlement and small rural properties.
“Petrobras supports projects for the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of forests and other ecosystems. These projects are recognized for using nature-based solutions with a focus on mitigating climate change and increasing climate resilience. We are using all this experience to contribute to the financing of other projects focused on the Amazon biome”, stated the president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard. She highlighted that Nature-Based Solutions aim not only to conserve biodiversity, but also positive social transformations in the communities involved.
“This initiative brings benefits both to climate change mitigation and to local communities, structuring the restoration chain and generating income and employment in the territory itself. In addition to creating a protection belt to contain the advance of deforestation, restoring forests is the most efficient and cheapest way to promote carbon capture, at scale”, explained the president of BNDES, Aloizio Mercadante.
Restaura Amazônia envisages the preservation of biodiversity, availability of water resources, reduction of erosion, improvement of the microclimate, removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, in addition to generating jobs and income. The program also contributes to the implementation of the National Native Vegetation Recovery Plan (Planaveg), by strengthening the recovery production chain, attracting investments and consolidating a monitoring system.
