Everybody wins with the economy of the standing forest

The relationship of the cosmetics manufacturer Natura with the biodiversity of the Amazon is already old. And became one of the trademarks of the company, as the best of the consumer goods sector and also the sustainable company of the year in this edition of the EXAME sustainability Guide (see story on page 190). To keep your source of raw materials, the company invests in technologies and projects that generate income for communities based on the harvesting of the forest, and not in your overthrow. The initiative was born to lead the creation of a system of sustainable cultivation of palm oil, known as palm oil in Brazil, that culture is today one of the main responsible for the overthrow of tropical forests in the world.
Used in the food industry as in cosmetics, the palm oil is widely grown in the Amazon, occupying large areas of plantation in industrial agriculture system, i.e. based on maximum productivity. The new model developed incorporates the production and conservation of biodiversity by planting of Palm along with other species, in an agroforestry system. In a kind of Consortium, in the same area of the Palm were planted cocoa, açaí, ucuuba, ipê, among other species. "This form of culture proved far richer, because it generates more income for the community involved in the extraction and kidnaps more carbon from the atmosphere," says João Paulo Ferreira, President of Natura.
As the palm cultivation cycle is long, generally of seven years, the project was developed over the past decade. This initiative is being developed in partnership with the Mixed agricultural cooperative of Tomé-Açu, in Pará, and with the company-Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), and funded the Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos.
The Group's conclusion is that the model can become an important alternative to increase the scale of production, with economic, environmental and social benefits. Ferreira remembers that, at the beginning of the project, the industry of palm oil production faced the initiative with skepticism. Now, on the results, there is interested in partnerships to develop the model. "I believe that the project could change the oil palm industry," says the President of Natura. Today, the company buys palm oil from certified productions only Roundtable on Sustainable Palm oil (RSPO), which ensures a responsible cultivation.