Idesam launches campaign to plant 7,000 trees from deforested areas, recovering the soil and benefiting at least 10 families in Amazon territories 

By Vanessa Brito/Idesam
Photos: Felipe Martins

The Institute for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Amazon (Idesam) launched, this Monday (21), the collective donation campaign “A goal for the Amazon” with the goal of recovering 7 hectares in the Amazon. The initiative aims to raise awareness of civil society in the fight against illegal deforestation, taking advantage of the World Cup and the passion of the Brazilian people for football. The idea is to draw attention to the conservation of the standing forest, as by September 2022, the area of ​​the Amazon Forest cut down reached 9,069 km², which corresponds to almost eight times the city of Rio de Janeiro (SAD/Imazon). 

RDS Uatumã. Photo: Felipe Martins

Fundraising will be done through a platform on the Idesam website, where people, companies and institutions can donate. Donations will be made through the Doare reference system, accessing doe.idesam.org, in PIX, card or bank slip modalities. Focusing on transparency and accountability, a specific campaign page will be made exclusive for the campaign, informing the number of “goals”, that is, donations made and the proportion in planting trees, restored soccer fields and benefited families, through the link: idesam. org/um-gol-para-amazonia, also featuring a VAR, video referee, demonstrating the amounts collected x areas that will be recovered, based on the calculation of the number of 1,000 trees equivalent to 1 soccer field, in the amount of R$40, 00 a unit. 

“We must respect and care for the Amazon. This is a social and a citizenship issue. For this reason, we want to encourage people to be more concerned, taking advantage of this national passion for football and knowledge of the size of an official field, after all, we know that, in 2022, we have already lost the equivalent of 906.900 football fields to the deforestation. Because of that, Idesam will enter the field with a strong team, to give a red card to illegal deforestation. With the campaign, we want to impact rural producers, extractivists and families that live and survive in the forest, promoting the restoration of these areas”, highlighted Paola Bleicker, executive director of Idesam and creator of the action. 

“The idea is that the campaign also mobilizes influencers, athletes, and supporters of football teams across the country with the cause. “We want to create a large network of ambassadors who will support the campaign, such as social entrepreneurs and other mobilization agents who have an affinity with socio-environmental issues in the Amazon”, said Paola. 

Among the main objectives is the message of the importance of keeping the forest standing for present and future generations. “We will echo this message about the importance of keeping the forest standing, restoring what has already been destroyed and conserving what is still preserved. It is a great challenge that we would like to share with as many people as possible, strengthening this great support network”, she added. 

Children playing football at RDS Uatumã. Photo: Felipe Martins

Areas recovered by planting seedlings are part of Idesam’s activities in municipalities in the interior of Amazonas, such as Apuí and São Sebastião do Uatumã. For Elizângela Cavalcante, leader of the Management Plan Working Group of the RDS do Uatumã association and manager of the furniture factory located in the RDS, the institute’s work with communities in the Amazon region is essential to encourage riverside communities and their population to take care of the forest and promote the livelihood of their families. 

“Idesam ties strengthen our work. The team always comes up with something new to improve, I see that they always want to help. And we believe in the work of Idesam, knowing that we are with the right institution, this motivates us to continue working. The team gives us guidance and technical advice to develop our work. We have products from furniture, agriculture, extractivism. Products that did not exist on the market and today we have them here at RDS, thanks to each of their collaborators who come here and support us”, she said. 

For more information on how to donate and support the “A goal for the Amazon” campaign, just access the page at the link: idesam.org/um-gol-para-amazonia.

About Idesam 

Idesam is an Oscip operating in the Legal Amazon since 2004. In 2022, it was recognized as one of the 100 best NGOs in Brazil and the Social Entrepreneur Award – Innovation in the Environment by Folha de São Paulo and Schwab Foundation. The Institute’s purpose is to promote a new, inclusive and sustainable grassroots economy in the Amazon, creating connections with actors in its value chains and pointing out new innovative paths for conservation and poverty reduction. So far, the indicators are 8.5 million hectares of conserved forests in 34 territories in the Amazon; 6 thousand families impacted, and 23 social organizations involved. Coordinates and supports the strategic initiatives AMAZ Impact Accelerator, Bioeconomy Priority Program (PPBio), Inatú Amazônia, Café Apuí Agroflorestal and Carbon Neutral Program, in addition to the executive secretary of the BR-319 Observatory.