Restoring Brazil's Rainforest Can Power an Environmental and Economic Transformation
A new publication by IDB Invest and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) reveals that restoring land in the Brazilian Amazon is a viable and profitable alternative to traditional uses. Private-sector leadership is key to promoting solutions.
Restoring lands represents a major opportunity to boost the local economy and support the development of surrounding communities.
Estimates suggest that restoration activities can generate, on average, 0.42 jobs per hectare, reinforcing their potential as a driver of local development.
At the same time, it contributes to preserving natural capital and mitigating the effects of droughts, floods, and other weather conditions.
This process is not just about planting trees but about turning recovered spaces into sources of employment and income through environmentally friendly economic activities.
Brazil’s Legal Amazon covers 502 million hectares. Of these, 27 million are degraded—an area 180 times larger than São Paulo, the country’s largest city.
Private Sector
While the benefits of the initiative are enormous, the required investment volume is also significant.
Restoring just 10% of these lands (2.7 million hectares) would require an investment of around US$12.9 billion—about US$4,800 per hectare—highlighting the importance of developing mechanisms to enable large-scale restoration.
That restored portion alone could remove around 27 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere per year, significantly contributing to a cleaner environment.
To achieve this, private-sector participation is crucial in promoting solutions, sharing knowledge, and mobilizing capital.
The IDB Invest and TNC publication argues that the investment potential, carbon sequestration, and comparison with other land uses position restoration as a viable and profitable strategy for sustainable development.
Natural Capital
IDB Invest can scale practices for long-term viability in agribusiness, such as zero-deforestation sustainable cattle ranching practiced in the northern state of Pará, Brazil.
This includes training clients in value chain traceability and engaging in non-traditional sectors and solutions that help protect the region’s natural capital.
Download the publication
Promoting best agriculture practices, particularly in the livestock sector, is crucial to reducing or preventing deforestation.
Activities such as sustainable forestry and agroforestry offer opportunities to combat ecosystem degradation.
Joint Effort
Public-private partnerships for managing natural parks, conservation, and forest restoration in Brazil—with current support from the IDB—are also possible avenues for long-term investment.
Nature-based solutions can be used to restore ecosystems within a project’s area of influence or as solutions for project operations, especially in agribusiness.
Restoration projects may be attractive to the growing carbon credit market—innovative financial mechanisms that channel fresh resources into nature-valuing activities.
Properly structured, these credits can effectively monetize environmental benefits, empower communities, support reforestation efforts, and help corporations meet environmental goals.
Sustainable Economy
Restoring more than 10,000 hectares of forest will protect wildlife habitats and contribute to efforts to mitigate the consequences of droughts, floods, and other phenomena.
The socioeconomic impacts are equally significant, thanks to private-sector participation, job creation, and the promotion of sustainable economic activities in the region.
Collaboration between government, international organizations, and the private sector can unlock new and profitable ways to care for the environment and ensure long-term economic activities.
Authors
Gabriel Azevedo
Luiz Gabriel Todt de Azevedo (Gabriel Azevedo) is Head of the IDB Group Amazon Coordination Unit. During his 35+ year career in international development, the private sector, academia, and civil society, he has developed a unique perspective on strategic leadership, political economy, partnerships, and collective action. He has held various leadership positions, including seven years as Managing Director of the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Division at IDB Invest. He has worked in development projects in more than forty-five countries, focusing on areas such as energy, water supply and sanitation, natural resource management, agribusiness, social innovation, and environmental management. He has worked in renowned institutions such as the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund for Conservation (WWF), and Construtora Norberto Odebrecht.
Gabriel served as Board Member and Member of the Financing and Audit Committee of the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO). He was Vice Presidente and President of Brazilian Water Resources Association (ABRHidro) and seats on its Consultative Board. He is also an observer to the Board of the International Hydropower Association (IHA). He has received numerous awards in recognition of his professional achievements. Additionally, he has published numerous articles, short papers, blogs, and book chapters in his field of expertise.
Gabriel is a civil engineer from the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil and holds a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering - Hydrology and Water Resources Management from Colorado State University.
Jaime García Alba
Jaime Garcia Alba is the Director of Strategy and Amazonia Forever Coordinator at IDB Invest. Throughout his career at IDB Group, Jaime developed IDB Invest's new business model and the corresponding $3.5 billion capital raise and led the Advisory Services and Blended Finance Program. Previously, he served as head of sustainability reporting and private finance at the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, where he coordinated the private sector's participation in the negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement.
Thomaz de Carvalho Pacheco e Silva
Thomaz de Carvalho Pacheco e Silva has over 15 years of experience spanning investment banking, sustainable investing, and nonprofit leadership. He currently works at IDB Invest, where he supports the organization’s investment efforts in the Amazon region. Previously, he co-founded Good Karma Partners, the largest independent sustainable investment firm in Latin America, and Estímulo 2020, Brazil’s first COVID-relief fund for SMEs, which disbursed over US$35 million in loans to more than 3,000 small businesses. Thomaz has held senior roles in both the private and social sectors, including CFO of RenovaBR and Vice President at Itaú BBA, where he led M&A and equity transactions totaling over US$2 billion. He brings a strong interdisciplinary background with expertise in corporate finance, governance, and stakeholder engagement. He holds a Master’s in International Public Policy (MIPP) from Johns Hopkins University – SAIS, a law degree from the University of São Paulo, and has completed executive and exchange programs at Stanford GSB and Sciences Po, respectively. Thomaz is fluent in Portuguese, English, and French, and has advanced proficiency in Spanish.
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