BRASÍLIA, Brazil - 6 August 2026
A coalition of Brazilian scientists, restoration practitioners, Indigenous representatives, community organizations, and environmental networks has issued a strong public appeal urging political candidates to commit to ecological restoration, climate justice, and the protection of Indigenous and traditional territories ahead of Brazil’s upcoming elections.
The appeal was formalized through a document titled “Restoration in the Election: A Commitment to Nature, People and the Future of Brazil”, signed during the VI Brazilian Conference on Ecological Restoration (SOBRE 2026) held at the University of Brasília (UnB) from 27-31 July 2026.
The letter calls on future elected leaders to ensure the implementation of Brazil’s existing environmental and climate commitments, including actions to restore degraded ecosystems, combat deforestation, strengthen biodiversity conservation, and expand long-term financing for restoration initiatives.
Signatories emphasized that ecological restoration should be treated not only as an environmental objective but also as a social, cultural, and economic priority. The document highlights the leading role of Indigenous peoples, traditional communities, family farmers, and community seed networks, recognizing their traditional knowledge and territorial stewardship as essential for successful restoration across Brazil’s major biomes, including the Amazon, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Pantanal, and Pampa.
The conference adopted the theme “Ecological Restoration: Inclusion and Climate Justice”, reflecting growing recognition that restoring ecosystems must also address social inequality, territorial rights, water security, food systems, and climate resilience.
Participants from government agencies, universities, civil society organizations, financial institutions, and local communities discussed strategies for large-scale ecosystem restoration, native seed supply chains, community-led restoration, and innovative financing mechanisms. The resulting letter seeks to make restoration a matter of public accountability and electoral commitment, rather than a voluntary or purely technical agenda.
Brazil has previously pledged to restore millions of hectares of native vegetation under its national climate and biodiversity commitments and remains a key contributor to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Environmental experts say the new declaration reinforces the need for consistent political support to transform these international commitments into measurable action on the ground.
The initiative is being viewed as an important signal from Brazil’s restoration community that nature recovery, Indigenous leadership, and climate justice must remain central to the country’s future development pathway.
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