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Black Jaguar Foundation founder Ben Valks joined the episode “The Severed Lifeline: Rebuilding a Fragmented Amazon” on the Rewildology podcast, an international platform focused on stories, research, and initiatives related to conservation and ecological restoration around the world. 

In the episode, journalist Brooke Mitchell explores how Amazon fragmentation is affecting biodiversity, local communities, and the future of the forest. Throughout the conversation, experts and local leaders share perspectives on conservation, ecological connectivity, and large-scale restoration. 

Alongside Ben Valks, the episode also features Juliana Martins, road ecologist and PhD candidate at Imperial College London, and Bruno Paladines, coordinator of the Amazon Platform at Nature and Culture International. 

Representing the Black Jaguar Foundation, Ben shares the vision behind the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor — one of the world’s largest ecological restoration initiatives — which aims to reconnect the Amazon and Cerrado across 2,600 km. 

The conversation highlights how large-scale restoration goes far beyond planting trees. It involves restoring soils and water systems, strengthening biodiversity, and building long-term collaboration with farmers, local communities, and technical teams working to regenerate the landscape. 

The episode also reinforces the essential role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in protecting forests, showing how lasting solutions depend on collective action, territorial knowledge, science, and long-term commitment. 

The impacts of this restoration are already becoming visible in areas where native species — including giant anteaters, tapirs, and jaguars — are beginning to return. 

🎧 Listen to the episode on Rewildology 

▶️ Watch on YouTube 

On 1 June, Rituals, the global wellbeing and cosmetics brand, will support Hike4Nature by having employees around the world walk a combined 2,600 kilometers during their Global Impact Day – the exact distance of the Black Jaguar Foundation’s Biodiversity Corridor.

This symbolic distance reflects the full length of the Black Jaguar Foundation’s Biodiversity Corridor – a mission to reconnect nature at scale in Brazil.

2,600 kilometers is also the distance the Hike4Nature team will cover during their extraordinary walk from Amsterdam to Lisbon. As they take their first steps, they will be symbolically joined by Rituals employees around the world.

One day. One distance. One shared purpose.

Now, let’s make this movement even bigger.

“As a global HR community at Rituals, we have the power to connect and create impact. With Hike4Nature, we walk together for 2,600 km, the same distance as Esther’s journey and the lifeline where the Black Jaguar Foundation restores nature. Every step counts. Join us, activate your network, and let’s make a real difference together.”

Anne Jaakke, CHRO at Rituals

This partnership highlights the power of collective action, showing how individuals and organizations can come together
to support nature restoration and create meaningful impact. 

We invite your company to take part in Hike4Nature by getting your teams moving and contributing to this collective journey to help make the world’s largest biodiversity corridor a reality. 

Step by step. Team by team. 

Interested? Simply send an email to info@hike4nature.nl 

Rio Web Summit 2026 will bring together thousands of participants, startups, investors, companies, and global leaders to discuss the future of technology, innovation, sustainability, and climate action. This year, biodiversity and ecological restoration will also play a central role in these conversations — and the Black Jaguar Foundation will be part of that dialogue. 

On June 11, BJF will participate in two panels exploring the connections between nature, climate, and the economy, reinforcing the role of ecological restoration as a key solution for a more resilient future. 

Save the date! At 2:40 PM, Sonia Guajajara, Prof. Carlos Nobre (BJF ambassador) and representatives from The Earthshot Prize will discuss how the biodiversity crisis is directly impacting economies and businesses worldwide. The session “The biodiversity crisis is a business crisis” will bring together experts, leaders, and international representatives to discuss how biodiversity loss is affecting supply chains, businesses, economies, and quality of life around the world.

Later, at 3:25 PM, during the session “Restoring the planet’s longest biodiversity corridor”, Prof. Carlos Nobre and Ben Valks will present the vision behind the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor — a 2,600-km initiative reconnecting the Amazon and Cerrado through large-scale restoration. 

Black Jaguar Foundation’s participation at Rio Web Summit reflects how ecological restoration is increasingly becoming part of global conversations around innovation, climate, development, and the future of our planet. 

Would you like to follow the event? Learn more on the official Rio Web Summit website 

As the rainy season between October and April comes to an end, so does another planting season at the Black Jaguar Foundation. With the arrival of the dry season, a new and essential phase of ecological restoration begins: monitoring and maintaining the areas restored over the past several months. 

Even in this early stage, the transformation is already visible. Native seeds and seedlings are establishing themselves, vegetation cover is gradually returning to the soil, and previously degraded land is beginning to recover life, structure, and biodiversity. 

Field records and images captured across the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor reveal the first stages of this regeneration process. Areas that were once degraded are slowly developing into young forests, helping reconnect the Amazon and Cerrado while supporting the recovery of ecosystems and biodiversity throughout the region. 

Over the coming months, our field teams will continue monitoring these areas closely, carrying out maintenance activities and tracking the development of native species as the restored landscape continues to evolve. 

Ecological restoration goes far beyond planting trees. It is a long-term process of regenerating ecosystems, rebuilding connections, and creating the conditions for nature to thrive once again.