“As they grow, trees provide a range of ecosystem services, help fight climate change and give rise to countless bioproducts used every day”

On the eve of World Environment Day, Brazil’s industrial planted-tree sector announced a striking milestone: 2.2 million trees planted every day. These trees are planted, harvested and replanted to produce bioproducts that are essential to everyday life. The figure, compiled by Ibá (Brazilian Tree Industry), shows the scale of an activity that combines sustainable production, conservation of natural resources and economic and social development across the country.

Planted trees supply a broad production chain that makes products such as tissue and personal-care papers, packaging, books, notebooks, specialty papers, wood panels, laminate flooring, biomaterials and fibers used by the textile industry, such as viscose. Because they come from a renewable source and are recyclable and biodegradable, these products play a growing role in replacing fossil-based materials.

As they grow, trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their biomass, helping to tackle one of the greatest challenges of our time: climate change. The sector follows sustainable management practices such as mosaic planting, which alternates productive areas with native vegetation, supporting ecological corridors and the conservation of soil, water and biodiversity. As pioneers, companies sought strict international certifications more than two decades ago to attest to their good practices.

Today, the planted-tree industry maintains 10.5 million hectares of trees for production and conserves more than 7 million hectares of native vegetation on its properties — an area larger than the state of Rio de Janeiro. Planting expands over previously converted land, turning low-productivity pasture into productive plantations that also provide valuable ecosystem services. According to the Pasture Atlas of the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil has more than 100 million hectares of land with some degree of degradation that could be converted to produce food, energy and fiber, or restored as forest to generate carbon credits.

“Rain or shine, we plant 2.2 million trees every day. This is the result of investment in applied science, technological development and nursery work to sustain an operation of this size. The planted-tree industry is an example of a competitive, sustainable and innovative bioeconomy,” says Paulo Hartung, president of Ibá. “On World Environment Day, this milestone reinforces the strategic role of the Brazilian sector in building a more sustainable economy based on renewable resources, technological innovation and commitment to future generations.”