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The Black Jaguar Foundation took ecological restoration to one of the world’s biggest stages for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship during Web Summit Rio 2026. With more than 40,000 attendees, the event brought together business leaders, investors, scientists, policymakers, and innovators to explore solutions for the world’s most pressing challenges. 

Represented by Founder Ben Valks and climate scientist Professor Carlos Nobre, the Foundation participated in a series of high-profile discussions that significantly expanded the visibility of the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor. 

The programme began with a press conference introducing the project, followed by the panel “The Biodiversity Crisis is a Business Crisis,” held on the Center Stage, Web Summit’s main stage, and attended by approximately 950 people.

The discussion explored how biodiversity loss affects economies, businesses, and climate resilience, making the case for nature restoration as a fundamental investment in our collective future.

Alongside Carlos Nobre, the panel featured Sonia Guajajara, Felipe Villela (Earthshot Prize), Márcio Gomes (CNN Brasil), and climate law and sustainability expert Bruno Camargo. Together, they demonstrated how science, business, media, and public policy must work hand in hand to address the global biodiversity crisis.

WATCH THE FULL PANEL: 

The itinerary also included visits to the Black Jaguar Foundation’s forest nursery and operational warehouse, where guests followed the journey from seed collection to seedling production and gained insight into the logistics behind large-scale restoration. The group then visited restored areas in the field, seeing firsthand how native vegetation is returning and ecological connectivity is being rebuilt across the landscape. 

A special dinner brought together representatives from Rabobank, the Black Jaguar Foundation team, and local partners working to build the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor. More than a celebration, the evening created space for meaningful conversations, new ideas, and stronger connections among the people making restoration possible. 

WATCH THE FULL PANEL: 

The Black Jaguar Foundation welcomed representatives from Rabobank for an immersive journey through the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, offering a closer look at the partnerships, people, and landscapes driving large-scale ecological restoration. 

The visit began in Lagoa da Confusão (Tocantins), where the group explored the site of BJF’s future second restoration hub. They also visited farms and strategic restoration areas while meeting with local stakeholders to discuss opportunities for expanding restoration efforts across the region. 

The following day, the delegation traveled to Santana do Araguaia (Pará) to meet members of the BJF Araguaia Seed Network. The conversations offered a firsthand perspective on the vital role seed collectors play in restoring ecosystems while creating new income opportunities for local communities. 

The itinerary also included visits to the Black Jaguar Foundation’s forest nursery and operational warehouse, where guests followed the journey from seed collection to seedling production and gained insight into the logistics behind large-scale restoration. The group then visited restored areas in the field, seeing firsthand how native vegetation is returning and ecological connectivity is being rebuilt across the landscape. 

A special dinner brought together representatives from Rabobank, the Black Jaguar Foundation team, and local partners working to build the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor. More than a celebration, the evening created space for meaningful conversations, new ideas, and stronger connections among the people making restoration possible. 

The visit concluded with a look ahead at the Black Jaguar Foundation’s next milestones, including the expansion of restoration activities and the development of the second restoration hub in Lagoa da Confusão. By the end of the week, participants had experienced firsthand how collaboration, local engagement, and long-term commitment are helping reconnect the Amazon and Cerrado through large-scale ecological restoration. 

Our long-standing partner De Heus has published a feature story exploring the impact of its partnership with the Black Jaguar Foundation and how ecological restoration is creating lasting environmental, social, and economic benefits for communities across the Araguaia region. 

At the heart of the story is Dinaura Zago Sobrinho, one of the BJF Araguaia Seed Network’s native seed collectors, who found in seed collection a valuable additional source of income for her family. The extra earnings helped pay for her husband’s surgery, illustrating how restoration can make a meaningful difference in people’s everyday lives. 

Since its creation in 2021, the BJF Araguaia Seed Network (Ressemear) has grown to include around 150 seed collectors. Together, they have collected more than nine tonnes of native seeds and generated approximately BRL 450,000 in income for local communities. Today, women represent around 60% of the network’s participants. 

The article also highlights how the initiative is strengthening environmental knowledge, empowering women, and fostering community participation in the conservation of the Amazon and the Cerrado. By sharing the stories of the people helping restore the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, De Heus shows how ecological restoration can go beyond recovering ecosystems – creating opportunities, strengthening communities, and delivering lasting benefits for both people and nature. 

Read the full article on the De Heus website HERE 

The Black Jaguar Foundation has been selected as one of the implementing organizations for the Forest for Well-Being project, an initiative led by Conservation International (CI-Brazil). Over the next 24 months, the project will restore 150 hectares of Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) and Legal Reserves on smallholder farms in southern Pará. 

Implementation is already in progress, with planning activities, site assessments, community engagement, and restoration agreements laying the foundation for the work ahead. 

Over the coming months, participating landowners will receive continuous technical support, including the development of tailored restoration plans, hands-on training, the application of restoration techniques best suited to each site, and ongoing monitoring of restored areas. 

Funded by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) through the Amazon Fund, the Forest for Well-Being project aims to restore 1,500 hectares across the Amazon while strengthening local restoration supply chains and building the capacity of the people and organizations driving landscape recovery. 

Beyond its environmental benefits, the initiative places local communities at the center of the restoration process. Participants receive training and technical assistance to actively contribute to restoring, maintaining, and monitoring degraded areas, while also creating economic opportunities through regional value chains such as native seed collection by the BJF Araguaia Seed Network and seedling production at the Black Jaguar Foundation nursery. 

By bringing together ecological restoration, community engagement, and biodiversity conservation, this partnership with CI-Brazil marks another important milestone in strengthening the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor. Through the recovery of native vegetation and the protection of water resources, the project expands the positive impact of restoration in one of the most strategic landscapes connecting the Amazon and the Cerrado, helping build ecosystems that are more resilient to climate change. 

These activities are carried out as part of the Forest for Well-Being project, led by Conservation International (CI-Brazil) and funded by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) through the Amazon Fund. 

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.