Text: Steffanie Schmidt/Idesam
Photo: Idesam

Agroforestry System (SAF) was recognized as a local action of sustainable socio-environmental impact

Idesam is the newest official player in Brazil of the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). With recognized performance in the conservation of the Amazon, the organization native to the region reaffirms, on the World Environment Day, its commitment to the Amazon biome as part of the global movement of initiatives that work for the planet’s recovery.  

The actors are entities that are actively developing programs and projects in the field, supporting or facilitating the articulation of restoration activities.   

The goal of the UN-led program is to accelerate restoration from connected initiatives, building a sustainable future for all. Membership is voluntary and the partner institutions have actions based on transparency, engagement, and responsibility for sustainability.   

The conservation through soil and biome recovery developed by Idesam, the agroforestry system (SAF), was recognized as a local action with global impact for presenting a sustainable solution for income generation for agroextractivist communities while recovering the devastated soil through the insertion of native fruit and timber trees in production areas. The scientifically proven benefits range from a greater diversity in available food to wood extraction as an alternative income.   

Currently, Idesam is responsible for supporting the conservation of 7.13 million hectares of forest in the Amazon, having completed the restoration of 152 hectares, according to the Indicators Panel available at this link.  

Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN decade is a collective effort aimed at fighting catastrophic climate change and protecting one million species currently threatened with extinction.   

The deadline coincides with that of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) because it is considered crucial by scientists, where all actions matter, with goals that cannot be met by any single entity.   

Idesam is an Oscip, which has been operating in the Legal Amazon since 2004. Its purpose is to promote a new economy with an inclusive and sustainable base in the Amazon, creating connections between the players in its value chains and pointing out new innovative paths to conservation and poverty reduction. It coordinates and supports the strategic initiatives AMAZ Impact Accelerator, Priority Bioeconomy Program, Inatú Amazônia, Café Apuí Agroflorestal, and Carbon Neutral Program, in addition to the executive secretariat of the BR-319 Observatory.  In 2022, it was recognized as one of the 100 best NGOs in Brazil and received the Social Entrepreneur Award – Innovation in Environment by Folha de São Paulo and Schwab Foundation.  

More information about this agenda on the official website of the UN Decade