The Amazon
The Amazon accounts for 50% of the world’s tropical forests, and it houses the world’s largest drainage
basin, a fifth of the planet’s fresh water, 400 billion trees and 20% of the Earth’s total biodiversity.
In addition, it also stores 150 to 200 billion tons of carbon.
Vale has been in the Amazon for more than 30 years helping to protect approximately 800 thousand hectares of rainforest in partnership with Brazil’s ICMBio. The area is five times the size of São Paulo’s capital city and represents a total of 490 million tons of carbon equivalent.
Satellite images show the development of the region’s land use and occupation, and
show that only the protected area remains preserved
Conservation Units
The Chico Mendes Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio, Instituto Chico Mendes de
Conservação da Biodiversidade) and Vale are working together to protect the largest area of
continuous forest in the south and southeast regions of Pará. The importance of the initiatives in
this partnership can be seen in a timeline that shows the development of the region’s land use and
occupation, as well as the landscape of forested areas that are restricted to indigenous lands and
conservation units maintained by Vale and the environmental agency.
The conservation of this area contributes to the fight against global warming as it maintains the
forest carbon stock, thus preventing gas emissions that cause the greenhouse effect due to
deforestation and forest degradation.
 These conservation units
comprise an area of over one million hectares of forest that Vale protects, helps protect and maintain
in partnership with ICMBio, with a carbon stock of approximately 600 million tons of CO2e.
To implement the Horizontes project, Vale is working on five
interconnected subprojects:
Environmental Licensing
The enhanced management of environmental licensing knowledge will add speed, assertiveness, and
effectiveness to specific conditions.
Diversification of land use
Expansion of the region's economic matrix with a focus on agroforestry and agricultural and extractive
activities. This will generate income for small farmers, for example, through plantations of
agricultural crops intercropped with forests.
Conservation of water resources
In order to work with the Itacaiúnas Riverbasin, the main one in the region, it is important to take a
sustainable approach to various land uses.
Land regularization
It is necessary to manage land use to solve possible barriers related to the occupation of areas.
Biodiversity monitoring
It deals with the expansion of knowledge about the Conservation Units, encouraging research.
Learn About Other Environmental Conservation Initiatives in the Region
- Recovery of Degraded Areas in Canaã dos Carajás (Pará)
-
We are promoting reforestation of pasture areas acquired in Serra Sul by creating true ecological
corridors and restoring the region's fauna and flora. Since the project was created, 1,045
hectares have been planted and 3,853 are being recovered.
- Seedling Production to Recover Permanent Preservation Areas (APP, Áreas de Preservação Permanentes)
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The revegetation process is carried out with plantations of native species of Flonade Carajás.
Vale's Forest Nursery in Carajás produces approximately 200,000 seedlings a year, covering an
average of 120 species.
- Research by Vale Institute of Technology (ITV, Instituto Tecnológico Vale)
-
ITV conducts research with a focus on sustainable development and mining. Natural Capital, one of
the projects developed, is an initiative that deals directly with the carbon stock in the
Carajás National Forest. The research seeks to establish a relationship between microclimate
regulation in the forest areas and the possible implications in case of loss of vegetation.
These studies help understand future scenarios according to climate change, forecast which
forests are at risk to beextinguished, and understand the types of native vegetation in a
region.
Partnerships and Investment
In the last decade, through our Fundo Vale, we supported more than 70 initiatives led by
research
institutions, governmental agencies, NGOs and startups. These partnerships have enabled us to
protect more than 23 million hectares of rainforest.
Through the Vale Foundation, we invest in social projects in the states of Pará and Maranhão,
in
areas such as health, education, culture and income generation.
And through the Vale Technological Institute, we invest in biodiversity, genome and climate
change
research. All these initiatives combined represent a total of R$792 million in investments made.
Without the rainforest, there’s no future for the planet.
The Amazon accounts for 50% of the world’s tropical forests, and it houses the world’s largest drainage basin, a fifth of the planet’s fresh water, 400 billion trees and 20% of the Earth’s total biodiversity. In addition, it also stores 150 to 200 billion tons of carbon.
Brazil’s future depends on the forest, too.
Our rainforest has been dwindling at an alarming rate for years on end—a direct consequence of fires, land grabs and illegal logging. All this has a huge impact on biodiversity. Right now, approximately 25.5 million people live within the Amazon, including 325 thousand indigenous people that have lived in the area for thousands of years.
We can no longer wait!
We urgently need to preserve our forest and to promote the sustainable development of local populations, by encouraging bioeconomic initiatives and creating a favourable business environment for conserving the rainforest.
And what is Vale doing for the forest?
We’ve been in the Amazon for more than 30 years, helping to protect approximately 800 thousand hectares of rainforest in partnership with Brazil’s ICMBio. The area is five times the size of São Paulo’s capital city and represents a total of 490 million tons of carbon equivalent.
The Amazon accounts for more than half of our iron ore production. In terms of sustainable development, we are one of the region’s major players. We generate income and thousands of jobs, and we engage an entire chain of local suppliers.
Plus, we’re keeping the trees alive by supporting the protection of 391 thousand hectares of land that comprise the Carajás National Forest.
And we’re not doing anything alone.
In the last decade, through our Fundo Vale, we supported more than 70 initiatives led by research institutions, governmental agencies, NGOs and startups. These partnerships have enabled us to protect more than 23 million hectares of rainforest.
Through Vale Foundation, we invest in social projects in the states of Pará and Maranhão, in areas such as health, education, culture and income generation.
And through the Vale Technological Institute, we invest in biodiversity, genome and climate change research. All these initiatives combined represent a total of R$792 million in investments made.
We need to take action now. And every day.
For that reason, we are reaffirming our commitment to promoting sustainable development in the region:
- To respect and promote the rights and the culture of indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
- To support the fight against illegal mining and logging, in addition to promoting spatial planning and land regularization in consolidated areas.
- To invest in renewable energy sources and to reduce carbon emissions, with goals adhering to the Paris Agreement.
- To promote the inclusion of forests in the carbon markets through REDD and other mechanisms.
- To encourage environmental protection and restoration initiatives, highlighting the value of the rainforest, increasing carbon sequestration and stocking, and ensuring that we continue to offer environmental stewardship services.
This is how we’re advancing the New Pact with Society we have established.
Without the Amazon, the future can’t sustain itself.
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