Pará and IDB sign first multilateral guarantee for forest restoration in Brazil during COP30
Unprecedented guarantee provides security for private investments in the Triunfo do Xingu Recovery Unit
The governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho, and the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn, celebrated on Wednesday (12), the first multilateral bank guarantee for forest restoration in Brazil. The announcement, followed by the signing of the document that guarantees the operation, took place during the panel "Public-Private Forest Partnerships in Brazil: unlocking investments for sustainable land use and restoration," in the Blue Zone of COP30, in Belém.
The announcement was also attended by the Minister of Planning and Budget of Brazil, Simone Tebet; the director of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Nelson Barbosa; and the General Director of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), Garo Batmanian. Annette Killmer, head of the IDB representation in Brazil, was the moderator of the panel.
It is US$ 15 million, with a term of 20 years, as a guarantee to the winning bidder for restoring, with native species, the Triunfo do Xingu Recovery Unit (URTX). Now, a guarantee fund is being created for the project that will carry out ecological restoration in the area most pressured by illegal deforestation in the Amazon, the APA Triunfo do Xingu.
The goal is for the concession of the area, which will last for 40 years, to provide a financial guarantee to the winning company of the bidding process, strengthening the security of the operation.
The project is part of a larger goal for the recovery of native vegetation. "Pará has set an ambitious goal for the restoration and recovery of its forest territory. We aim to restore 5.7 million hectares by 2030, almost half of Brazil's commitment," said Helder Barbalho.
Helder emphasized that the government of Pará is implementing countermeasures to ensure legal security, state presence in land use planning, logistics and infrastructure, as well as social investments in education and health for community engagement. "The symbolism of taking the first step in the APA Triunfo do Xingu is enormous: an area that has suffered pressure from livestock farming in recent decades, where the state has recovered the territory and initiated Brazil's first public restoration concession, with studies showing real economic viability," he highlighted.
"This is a concrete delivery from Amazônia Sempre and a replicable model for both other Amazonian countries and other biomes in Latin America and the Caribbean," said the president of the IDB Group, Ilan Goldfajn. "Creating conditions for large-scale sustainable business is essential to protect the Amazon and generate development for its populations," he added.
The Triunfo do Xingu Restoration Unit, located in the APA Triunfo do Xingu, was granted in a process at B3 in March of this year for a reforestation project. The concession will recover 10,000 hectares, has a term of 40 years, and projects R$ 300 million in private investments over the contract. "This model can remove about 4 million tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere and mobilize 2,000 jobs related to the replanting of native species. It is business: estimated net profit of R$ 431 million, with a living forest, NDCs met, and local development," he said.
During the event, the Minister of Planning and Budget, Simone Tebet, highlighted the financial innovation of the operation, already approved by Brazil's External Financing Commission to include the guarantee of the National Treasury.
"In addition to being innovative from an environmental perspective, this operation innovates in its financial structuring, which will help Brazilian states channel resources for development in environmental and social projects, addressing a historical difficulty in structuring guarantees for PPPs. This operation received approval from Brazil's External Financing Commission so that it can also count on the guarantee of the National Treasury," explained the Minister of Planning and Budget of Brazil, Simone Tebet.
