Brazil's Para state in the Amazon basin will concede reforesting 10,000 hectares (ha) in the Triunfo do Xingu environmental reserve as part of efforts to protect more rainforest ahead of the UN Cop 30 climate summit in November.
The 40-year concession will require R258.3mn ($45.3mn) in investments and capture an estimated 3.7mn metric tonnes (t) of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e)/yr, according to the Para state government.
The 1.6mn ha Triunfo do Xingu reserve, which was created in 2006, has seen significant environmental degradation in recent years from illegal deforestation. Last year, the reserve lost 1,400km² (870 mi²) to illegal deforestation, the bulk of which was converted into pastureland.
The concession, which will be Brazil's first for reforestation, will be a test case for the government's efforts to recover its tropical forests and is possible because of legislation approved in 2023, which allows carbon offsets to be issued on public lands. The auction will take place on 28 March at the B3 stock exchange, in Sao Paulo state.
The winner of the project will be allowed to sell carbon offsets and environmental services credits, which will be generated by reforesting and preserving the forest. The sale of some forestry products is also approved. The Para state government estimates that the concession will generate gross revenues of R21.7mn/yr.
Para will also sell two other 10,000ha concessions later this year, it said.
Brazil has continued to reduce deforestation in the Amazon forest. It lost just 80.9km² of Amazon rainforest in February, down more than 64pc from the same month last year. February deforestation was the lowest on record, according to the science and technology ministry's national space institute INPE. Brazil's goal is to eliminate all deforestation by 2030.
