How much is a standing forest worth? SOS Amazonia launches global campaign to protect 45 hectares of Amazon Rainforest
How much is a standing forest worth? For SOS Amazônia, a civil society organization with nearly four decades of experience in Amazon conservation, its value goes far beyond forest management: it represents water, biodiversity, climate stability, and quality of life for current and future generations.
With this purpose, the NGO has just launched an international campaign on GlobalGiving, one of the world's largest crowdfunding platforms for social and environmental projects. The initiative seeks to raise funds to acquire and permanently preserve a 45-hectare area of Amazon Rainforest, located in Capixaba, Acre.
The chosen area has high environmental importance. Besides harboring native flora and fauna, it protects a spring that plays a strategic role in the NGO's work. The spring supplies the SOS Amazônia Nursery, where approximately 450,000 seedlings of native forest species are produced, destined for the regeneration of degraded areas and the strengthening of environmental recovery initiatives in different regions of Acre.
“Preserving this headspring therefore means ensuring not only the conservation of an important water resource, but also the continuity of work that directly contributes to the regeneration of ecosystems,” explains Suzy Anne, coordinator of the SOS Amazônia Plant Nursery.
The proposal aims to transform the area into a permanent conservation asset, preventing deforestation and ensuring that the forest continues to fulfill its role in climate regulation, biodiversity protection, and water resource conservation. The initiative gains even more relevance because it is directly linked to the SOS Amazônia Plant Nursery, located in one of the most degraded regions of Acre, where extensive areas of forest have given way to pastures and monocultures, especially soy, with intensive use of pesticides.
"The advance of deforestation shows that protecting the Amazon requires concrete and permanent actions. By ensuring the conservation of this area, we are preserving wildlife, water, carbon stocks, and contributing to tackling climate change. It is an opportunity for people from anywhere in the world to participate directly in this solution," emphasizes Miguel Scarcello, Secretary-General and co-founder of SOS Amazônia.
Environmental awareness Unlike campaigns focused on emergency actions, the project offers a long-term impact. In addition to the permanent protection of the forest, the initiative foresees the development of ecotourism activities, bird watching and scientific research, promoting the appreciation of natural heritage, the production of knowledge about the Amazon and new opportunities for connection between people and the standing forest.
"When we take a deep breath in the forest, observe a bird, listen to the animals in the morning or the frogs at night, we experience firsthand what the forest offers: fresh air, shade, beauty, balance, and well-being. But the forest is not only valuable for what it gives us. It is valuable simply for existing. Each tree, each animal, and each relationship within it is part of a web of life. Our aspiration is that this area will be a space for reconnection between people and nature, uniting conservation, science, education, and traditional knowledge. And that this will inspire more people to protect the forest, not only for its own sake, but for the collective good of humanity," reflects biologist Luiz Borges, project coordinator at SOS Amazônia.
In a context where the Amazon occupies the center of global discussions on climate and biodiversity, initiatives like this demonstrate that protecting the forest can also happen through the direct engagement of society. Every contribution helps transform a vulnerable area into a permanently protected territory.