Co-author: Tathiane Santi Sarcinelli, Forest Environment Consultant

In 2021, Suzano, a global reference in the manufacture of bioproducts developed from eucalyptus cultivation, made 15 commitments aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. With these commitments, the company aimed to expand its role in the value chain and in society to promote significant changes in the way it produces, consumes and relates to the world.

Aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land, the “Conserve Biodiversity” Commitment aims to connect, by 2030, 500 thousand hectares of priority areas for biodiversity conservation in the Cerrado, Amazon and Atlantic Forest biomes. There will be three ecological corridors planned to connect the main fragments of native vegetation in Suzano's forest base with other conservation areas on private properties and Conservation Units, covering five states, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Maranhão and Pará.

Brazil is one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world and suffers from intense human pressure, such as deforestation and fires in natural areas. These activities lead to the fragmentation and degradation of native vegetation and the reduction of biodiversity, with consequences not only for the biological balance, but also for productive systems. This is because the simplification of biodiversity reduces the ecosystem services it provides, such as pollination, regulation of the water cycle and climate, among others, also impacting human life.

Therefore, we want to be part of the transformation of this reality and we have made such a commitment. Ecological corridors have the function of increasing landscape connectivity and the home range available for species. This improves environmental conditions and allows ecological functions and ecosystem services to be maintained and restored, increasing the resilience of fauna and flora communities and also of agrarian systems in the face of climate change and anthropogenic activities.

Since 2021, we have been working with various actors linked to the topic of biodiversity, such as research institutes, national and international non-governmental organizations and private partners, to develop strategic planning for the actions to be carried out over the years.

With support from the Institute for Ecological Research, the first version of the corridor layout was defined considering routes of shorter distance and less matrix resistance between priority fragments for conservation, thus generating more effective corridors to increase landscape connectivity. The length of the three planned corridors is more than 1,000 kilometers, with widths varying from 60 to 500 meters, depending on the participation and interest of rural producers who will be engaged.

Knowing that nature does not recognize boundaries between properties, the corridors pass through areas of Suzano's forest base as well as neighboring farms with diverse agricultural production and no relation to the company, further expanding the challenge.

Around 60% of the corridors area is on company farms and the remaining 40% belongs to more than 500 properties and rural settlements of different sizes, forming a mosaic that integrates legally protected areas, in different stages of conservation, and consolidated areas, with diverse agricultural crops (pasture, sugarcane, eucalyptus, among others).

To achieve its commitment, Suzano is acting strategically on the Connect, Engage and Protect pillars, comprising six lines of action:

1. implement biodiversity corridors at the landscape scale, connecting priority fragments for conservation, including the ecological restoration of Permanent Preservation and Legal Reserve Areas owned by Suzano and its neighbors, as well as monitoring these areas and biodiversity with Environmental DNA and insects, camera traps and autonomous recorders;

2. implement biodiverse production models in areas outside Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserves that overlap the corridor and are of key importance for connecting native fragments. These models seek to make the landscape more permeable for fauna and flora, maintaining agricultural and economic production in a sustainable way and will be designed according to the profile of rural landowners;

3. establish business models that generate shared value for people, adding value to the standing forest and sustainable production management;

4. alleviate anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity, combating environmental degradation such as forest fires, deforestation and hunting of wild animals;

5. conserve populations of endangered primates and palm trees, species whose protection includes the protection of countless other species;

6. create networks of Conservation Units, implementing new units in private areas and strengthening existing public Conservation Units.

The biodiversity commitment will be a great challenge and will require the formation and strengthening of local, regional and even global partnerships, aiming to support its execution, validation and financing. There are a number of legal and environmental benefits that landowners will be able to obtain by joining the pledge and participating in the ecological connection of the landscape. With this external action, Suzano intends to serve as a lever to boost ecological restoration in its territory of operation, bringing more sustainable alternatives, connecting priority areas for conservation and working together with local and regional actors.

Our thanks to all Suzano teams and partners who work to make this dream and commitment come true.