Eastman has signed a partnership agreement with the environmental non-governmental organization SOS Mata Atlântica and Bracell, a soluble cellulose producer, to donate 15,000 seedlings in support of a program designed to help restore the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
This environmental initiative will support Future Forests (Florestas do Futuro in Brazilian Portuguese), a program created to catalyze forest restoration in permanent protection areas, such as riparian forests and legal reserves in the Atlantic Forest biome. The project by Eastman, SOS Mata Atlântica and Bracell focuses on forest restoration in Brazil’s Jequitibá region within an environmental protection area on the north coast of Bahia.
An investment by the Eastman Foundation is supporting restoration in the selected area, which is part of Bracell’s Forest Partnership Program. The area, in the municipality of Entre Ríos, is home to two springs. The initiative will contribute to improving the ecosystem service of water regulation, adding benefits to the entire region.
The restoration will follow a methodology for high density and diversity; there are 2,500 native trees per hectare with 60 to 100 different species. Planting reports will be made after the conclusion of each project phase, along with distribution of periodical reports with planting images during area maintenance and annual reports during the monitoring period.
The Atlantic Forest is a tropical forest biome with more than 90% of its extension in Brazil. It occupies 15% of the Brazilian territory, covering the east coast, northeast, southeast, and southern areas of the country. It is among the priority global ecosystems for restoration, considering biodiversity, climate and cost. The forest is part of a group of ecosystems that — if optimally recovered — could save 71% of species from extinction and absorb almost half of the carbon accumulated in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, according to research conducted by the Brazilian government.
SOS Mata Atlântica was formed in 1986 with the intent to promote public policies that support conservation of the Atlantic Forest. Bracell is a global leader in soluble cellulose and a supplier of cellulose used in the production of Eastman Naia™ Renew cellulosic fiber.
Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. It employs approximately 14,000 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2021 revenues of approximately $10.5 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA.