An entire Ecosystem rebuilt from scratch.
When Brazilian Photographer named Sebastian Selgado decided to return home with his wife to his native area of Brazil, he couldn’t believe the devastating sight he was looking at. The once full of life tropical rainforest he knew, was gone and only 0.5% of the land was covered with trees.
His wife expressed the idea to him that they could recreate the forest and this is when the reforestation begun. Together the founded an organization called “Instituto Terra”. So far they have planted 4 million trees and the tropical forest is full of life.
“There is a single being which can transform CO2 to oxygen, which is the tree. We need to replant the forest. You need forest with native trees, and you need to gather the seeds in the same region you plant them or the serpents and the termites won’t come. And if you plant forests that don’t belong, the animals don’t come there and the forest is silent.” Salgado explained how important it was to plant everything that was native to the land so wildlife could return. This couple has shown us the best way possible how quickly a dead forest can recover with the right actions.
Today there is 172 bird species, 33 mammals, 15 species of reptiles and amphibians as well as 293 species of plants.
Every country has a piece of land that has been destroyed by fire or other causes. Imagine what we could accomplish if we all did the same thing in our countries. Food for thought!
Image credits: Ricaro Beliel
