Fibria is committed to restoring native forest alongside its plantations in Brazil. The Atlantic rainforest and the Brazilian cerrado are biodiversity hotspots, which makes restoration vitally important. One of the main challenges is finding the necessary seedlings.
Many of the rural areas where Fibria operates are poor, and there are few job opportunities, even in agriculture or cattle ranching. By supporting community tree nurseries, Fibria hoped to improve local incomes and promote green economic growth, while securing a consistent supply of quality seedlings for its own needs. The community nurseries supply around 10% of Fibria’s seedlings, so there is significant scope for them to expand. Fibria continues to provide technical assistance and to invest in building technical, management and teamwork skills to improve the running of the nurseries.
To meet its long-term goal of restoring 40,000 hectares of native Atlantic rainforest and cerrado by 2025, Fibria needs hundreds of thousands of tree seedlings. The company has set up community nurseries to help service this demand, improving employment opportunities and incomes for local people.
