Forest Recovery can create over 5 million jobs

To meet the target assumed by Brazil in the Paris Agreement, to recover 12 million hectares of forests, Brazil needs labor to act in the implementation and management of those degraded areas, as well as to produce 10.5 billion seedlings. Together, these work fronts can generate 5.2 million new jobs, as shown in the publication Over 5 million jobs: the good fruits of forest recovery, issued by Instituto Escolhas. The text is a new excerpt from the study “The good fruits of forest recovery: from investment to benefits”, also recently launched by the organization.

“By investing strategically in forest recovery, the country has the opportunity to create environmental and social solutions, considering that this activity demands intensive labor while at the same time, offers possibilities for vulnerable segments to unemployment,” states Patricia Pinheiro, project manager at Instituto Escolhas.

She highlights the example of the American Climate Corps program as a possible reference to set up and implement a similar strategy in Brazil. “In this initiative, the US Government is establishing training fronts in forest conservation activities and renewable energy sources, aiming to direct large contingents for the vacancies beginning to arise in nature-based economic activities,” explains Pinheiro. “Brazil has a huge potential to create jobs in these same areas. It’s up to the government to create ways to train and qualify the workforce needed to boost the forest economy,” she argues.

According to the publication, 2.5 million jobs could be created during the implementation phase of the restoration projects presented in the study. Another 390,000 jobs could be created to produce and manage the great number of seedlings that will be needed to restore the 12 million hectares. Finally, a further 2.3 million jobs could be generated in the ongoing management of 1.02 million hectares of agroforestry systems on family farms.

Read the study “The good fruits of forest recovery: from investment to benefits” and all related publications at this link.