WHY PLANT TREES ALONG THE ARAGUAIA RIVER?
The Araguaia river is one of the best preserved large-sized rivers in Brazil. It only caters to one hydroelectric dam, the Tucuruí dam, and is home to the biggest river island in the world. Bananal Island is part national park and part indigenous reservation, and is the only original habitat in a largely deforested area, connecting nature in the north and south. The Araguaia river is also the crucial link between two important and highly diverse ecosystems: the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savanna.
RESTORING THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND CERRADO SAVANNA
The Black Jaguar Foundation started in 2009, its initial goal making a unique documentary about the black jaguar in the wild – a dream of initiator Ben Valks. During his numerous expeditions it was not the black jaguar he encountered, but the drastically deforested Amazon. The Black Jaguar remained our bold symbol of hope and today we are all about restoring the Araguaia Biodiversity Corridor, connecting our two vital ecosystems: Amazon Rainforest and Cerrado Savanna.