Forest Protection Day: Copaíba celebrates the date with more than 1.2 million trees planted in the region.

July 17th is celebrated as Forest Protection Day, a significant date for all those who understand the importance of forests for our lives. And in the basins of the Peixe and Camanducaia rivers, this day gains even more importance with the work carried out by Copaiba Environmental Association, which in almost 27 years of history has produced more than 4.5 million native seedlings, planted 1.2 million seedlings, and has more than 900 hectares of Atlantic Forest in the process of restoration.

The celebration gains even more momentum at a time when the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation and INPE – the National Institute for Space Research – published research indicating that deforestation in the Atlantic Forest has decreased by 40%, reaching its lowest level in four decades. However, with only about 24% of the original coverage remaining, Ana Paula Balderi, responsible for the work, restoration of Copaiba, He says that conservation alone is no longer enough. “The decrease in deforestation of the Atlantic Forest is something to celebrate, but restoration remains the most important action to achieve environmental balance, guarantee water security, and prevent new waves of extreme heat, including in our region. We need to continue raising awareness among landowners about the importance of restoring and expanding their forests.” forests”said Ana Paula.  

Real impact on local basins

The work carried out by Copaiba continues to have a positive impact on the region. Last season, the institution, through the program Mogi Guaçu roots, [The organization] carried out the planting of nearly 100,000 native seedlings across 123 hectares in the municipalities of Serra Negra, Itapira, and Socorro, in the Peixe River basin, and an additional 29,000 seedlings through the program. Adopt a Forest, demonstrating the strength of Copaiba in the union of companies interested in supporting restoration projects with local landowners who have degraded areas for reforestation.

The real impact of this transformation goes beyond the protection and restoration of forests of the Atlantic Forest, because of the more than 1.2 million seedlings planted by Copaiba In the basins of the Peixe and Camanducaia rivers, initiatives promote the protection of springs, ensuring water supply, improving soil quality which allows for increased productivity, the return of fauna which brings more life to the ecosystem, and also help regulate local and global temperature, contributing to a significant improvement in people's quality of life. 

From the Nursery to the Forest

And all this restoration work begins in Copaiba Forest Nursery, which in 2025 increased its capacity to up to 1 million native seedlings per year, of 130 different species. Only in 2025 will the Nursery It produced nearly 450,000 seedlings and collected more than 80 kilograms of seeds from 58 different species, ensuring genetic diversity and supplying all of the projects. Copaiba and other partner institutions. 

How to support

To celebrate this Forest Protection Day, a Copaiba The association invites landowners in the region interested in restoring their land to contact the institution's restoration team, so that together they can take this further step towards the balance and protection of the Atlantic Forest. The association offers technical support and can include new partners in one of the many ongoing ecological restoration projects. Contact them through social media or by phone. Institution's website – www.copaiba.org.br.

Copaiba

The Copaíba Environmental Association is a non-profit Public Interest Civil Society Organization (OSCIP) based in the municipality of Socorro (SP), which has been working since 1999 with the mission of conserving and restoring the Atlantic Forest in the basins of the Peixe and Camanducaia rivers. Present in 19 municipalities in this region, the Copaiba It develops integrated actions in the areas of public policy, environmental education, production of native seedlings and ecological restoration, promoting the reconnection of people with nature and contributing to the protection of natural resources, especially water and biodiversity.