Foreign Property News | Posted by Hnin Ei Khin
Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado is a world renowned social documentary photographer and photojournalist from Brazil, but few people know that he is also the mastermind behind one of the most amazing environment restoration projects in history.
Together with his wife, Salgado has nearly completed the recovery of a single uninterrupted section of the Atlantic Forest, planting millions of saplings over the last two decades.
The story of Instituto Terra, the non-profit organization founded by Sebastião Salgado and his wife, Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado, began in 1998.
“Only about 0.5% of the land was covered in trees.”
Sebastião secured a donation of 100,000 saplings from Vale’s nursery.
“Like to grow a baby,” Salgado told Smithsonian Magazine. The restoration of Atlantic Forest in the Rio Doce Valley was a battle for the Salgados. But their hard work bore fruit. Instituto Terra had its own sapling nursery.
Bringing a forest back to life isn’t cheap, especially when you’re running a non-profit. While the Salgados were able to secure donations from both national and provincial governments, as well as foundations and private companies, they often had to pay out of pocket to keep their project alive.
The Instituto Terra Reserve is very small on the scale of Brazil or the planet, but it is proof that it’s never too late to start undoing all the damage we’ve caused to the environment.
Ref: Property Report
