The Brazil Reforestation Project pursued by Evertreen is focused on the Araribóia Indigenous Territory.This site is found in the State of Maranhão, located in
the transitional zone between the Amazon and the Cerrado forests. The native vegetation is classified as Amazonian Forest and is located within the limits of the Legal Amazon biome, home to diverse flora and fauna.
In 2015, a fire was caused by loggers that
was considered the largest fire recorded in
any indigenous land in Brazil. The Arariboia Indigenous Land, covering 413 thousand hectares, has already had more than 45% of its territory turned to ashes. Maranhão had the 4th highest rate of accumulated deforestation among the Amazon states between 1988 and 2016.
The Arariboia Indigenous Land has
a population of 5,317 inhabitants,
divided among three people groups:
the Awa Guajá (Tupi-Guarani), the
Guajá Awa isolated people group, and
Guajajara (Tupi-Guarani – Tenetehara).
The Guajajaras is one of the largest
indigenous groups in Brazil. Due to the
implementation of large commercial
farms, deforestation, logging and fires havegenerated great food insecurity in the region. Rampant deforestation has made it challenging to maintain hunting, fishing, and traditional crops, limiting income generation. Partnering with our Brazil Reforestation Project means to reforest this degraded area with native tree species, local villagers will protect vulnerable flora and fauna and reduce poverty and food insecurity inthe Guajajaras community. The Brazil team plans to plant approximately 1,085,920 trees over two years.