The Atlantic Forest
What is the Atlantic Forest
Stretching alongside the Atlantic Ocean down the coast of South America, an immense rain loving forest of broad leaved plants once extended inland for up to 500km, covering about a million square kilometres. Named after the ocean it borders, the Atlantic Forest is home to more endemic species, that is, life forms found only here and nowhere else in the world than other biotopes on Earth, second only to the Amazon Rainforest.
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE ATLANTIC FOREST NOW
93% of brazil`s atlantic forest has already disappeared
Only 7% of the Atlantic Forest remains standing according to the WWF. Over 80% of tree species endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest are threatened with extinction. Land once covered with forest is now home to coffee monocultures, fields for cattle, soya and mines. Habitat loss is threatening numerous animal species with extinction in the wild, including the Golden Lion Tamarin and the critically endangered Muriqui monkey, the largest primate in South America.
How agroforestry can help
Agroforests can provide habitat, a source of food and have a corridor effect that coffee monocultures cannot provide. The more complex and diverse the agroforest, the more it can support biodiversity. Curu farmers are planting native trees that support the Atlantic Forest, such as Ingá Edulis, which produces fruits loved by the Muriqui monkey. Most of our partners farm in between two nature reserves with small populations of the Muriqui. If we sell enough coffee, we could work with enough farmers to create a functional connection to help the Muriqui survive in the wild.
