“Protecting the Amazon is our civilizing duty,” says João Moreira Salles

The documentarian launches a book about the forest, establishes an ecological restoration company, and produces a documentary about indigenous activist Txai Suruí.

re.green was born from a meeting I had with the researcher Bernardo Strassburg, who received a scholarship from the Serrapilheira Institute, founded by myself and my wife, Branca Vianna, to support basic science in Brazil. He published a remarkable paper in the scientific journal Nature, identifying priority areas in the Atlantic Forest for restoration. Later, he created a global model: which areas worldwide are a priority for restoration based on parameters such as carbon and biodiversity.

And Brazil is a restoration hotspot: the country has the highest number of priority areas for forest restoration. It spans 58,000 square kilometers, which is larger than Switzerland. These are lands that have been opened up and, as they stand today, serve no purpose. So, having an ecological restoration company in the country makes sense. I introduced Bernardo to some friends of mine from the private sector who know how to get a company off the ground. From there, things flourished, and re.green emerged.

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