fevereiro, 09 2026

By Maria Fernanda Maia, from WWF-Brazil

Ecosystem restoration has become one of the great global agendas of our time, being an essential way to simultaneously address the climate and biodiversity crises. In Brazil, this agenda has materialized in commitments such as the National Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (PLANAVEG) and in biome related pacts, which align national and subnational efforts with international goals.

In this context, the Government of the State of Espírito Santo published, on January 28 of this year, the decree establishing the Program for the Recovery of the Native Vegetation of the State of Espírito Santo, which will be implemented through the State Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation – PERVN Capixaba. The plan has been under construction since the first half of 2025, in line with the guidelines of the National Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (PLANAVEG) and represents an important advance to consolidate restoration as a structuring public policy in the state. 

PERVN-ES is the result of a process coordinated by a Working Group composed of the State Secretariat for the Environment and Water Resources (SEAMA), the State Secretariat for Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries (SEAG), the Institute for Agricultural and Forestry Defense of Espírito Santo (IDAF), WWF-Brazil and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA). On February 3, the last face-to-face meeting of the plan construction process was held, dedicated to the validation of the proposed actions. The next steps include the opening of the public consultation, scheduled for the second half of February, and the final publication of the plan, expected by the beginning of April. 

To contribute to the fulfillment of national and international restoration goals, WWF-Brazil operates on three strategic fronts: focus on public policies and articulation spaces; finance for restoration; and impact restoration of the landscape. In this context, the organization supports the process conducted in Espírito Santo because it understands that PLANAVEG is a fundamental catalyst for large-scale restoration in the country, which will require coordinated action with the states.

Even deeply impacted by decades of deforestation and fragmentation, the Atlantic Forest remains strategic for water security, climate regulation, soil conservation, food production and disaster risk reduction in much of the Brazilian territory. Restoring this biome — which spans 17 states, houses more than 70% of the country's population and sustains a significant portion of the national economy — is an essential condition for expanding Brazil's climate resilience and ensuring sustainable bases for development. In this sense, the institution of PERVN ES gains relevance that goes beyond the state level, by contributing to transform national restoration commitments into effective territorial public policies in one of the most threatened and strategic biomes in the country. 

Espírito Santo has great potential to become one of the first states in the Atlantic Forest — and possibly Brazil — to structure a state restoration plan in line with the new PLANAVEG, launched in 2024 during COP16. This leadership reinforces the role of the state as technical and institutional reference, facilitates dialogue with partners and strengthens the governance arrangement. 

"This movement gives an important signal to the country by structuring a state restoration plan aligned with PLANAVEG. The protagonism of Espírito Santo helps to show that restoration can be a structuring development agenda, capable of strengthening territories, generating environmental benefits and inspiring other states to move forward in a coordinated way," explains Gabriela Pereira, conservation analyst at WWF-Brazil. 

For the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, the Espírito Santo experience is strategic to advance the territorial implementation of PLANAVEG. "The experience of Espírito Santo is crucial to verticalize PLANAVEG's actions in the states and in specific territories. Within the scope of CONAVEG, the Territorial Articulation Center was also created, which seeks to identify territories with consolidated institutional arrangements for the recovery of native vegetation, which can leverage resources and official recognition. All states will be invited to participate in this process, and the development of PERVN ES can contribute a lot to this construction," says Matheus Dala Senta, general coordinator of the MMA Forest Department. 

The publication of the decree, in addition to establishing PERVN ES, establishes the State Commission for the Recovery of Native Vegetation, a governance arrangement responsible for coordinating the implementation of the plan in the state. The strengthening of restoration financing mechanisms and the maintenance of active, structured and participatory governance are central to ensuring the implementation of the plan at scale, in the territory, with quality and permanence over time. 

The integration between agriculture and the environment is pointed out as a key element for the success of the policy. “The recovery of native vegetation requires the integration of agriculture and the environment, especially since most of the areas to be restored are on rural properties. The decree provides security for the implementation of the plan and reinforces the importance of policies that reconcile production, conservation and quality of life in the countryside," says Michel Tesch, Undersecretary for Rural Development of the State Secretariat for Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries (SEAG). 

According to Gabriel Nunes, coordinator of the Reflorestar Program, from the State Secretariat for the Environment and Water Resources (SEAMA), the decree creates the necessary bases to get the plan off the ground. "The decree guarantees the conditions to implement the State Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation. It is a public policy structured to face climate challenges, integrating and coordinating the various actions already taken in the state. Its success depends on the active participation of all sectors of society, and the governance provided for in the decree is essential to strengthen this articulation," he points out.