Conservation International is finalist at the world’s largest geotechnology event with an innovative Cerrado restoration strategy

San Diego, USA, July 18, 2025 – Conservation International (CI‑Brazil) took part in the Esri User Conference 2025, the planet’s largest gathering dedicated to geoinformation technologies, showcasing six posters highlighting Nature-based Solutions (NbS) designed to tackle climate and biodiversity crises. Among the Brazilian contributions, the poster “The Reforestation Strategy in Brazil” was a finalist in the Envisioning the Future category, recognized for its visionary approach to transforming land use through science-based, sustainable business models. 

The finalist poster presents a model developed in partnership with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) to scale landscape restoration. The initiative aims to mobilize US$ 1 billion to recover 275,000 hectares of degraded land in Brazil and Uruguay, with potential for expansion in other South American countries. The model is distinctive: half of the project area is devoted to restoring and conserving native species, and the other half to low-impact eucalyptus forestry certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for sustainable timber production. 

CI–Brazil serves as the impact advisor for the strategy, ensuring every decision is grounded in rigorous science, guided by environmental and legal criteria, and promotes low-carbon agricultural practices. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the organization developed a methodology to measure habitat connectivity based on project performance indicators. 

“One of our challenges was translating into GIS indicators that help us measure progress toward the project’s commitments, such as the goal of ensuring twice the amount of connected natural habitat for every hectare restored. Achieving this required integrating multiple environmental, social, and operational layers, and aligning methods and technology to translate those commitments into geotechnology. More than a technical solution, it was a critical step toward consistent monitoring of complex goals and guiding efficient integrated landscape management—a vital approach to strengthen biodiversity, enhance ecosystem resilience, and promote environmental balance for the long term,” says Maira Matias, CI–Brazil Project Coordinator. 

The project blends ecological restoration, carbon credit generation, and certified timber production as a financial model. In 2024, TIG signed agreements with Microsoft and Meta to purchase up to 11.9 million carbon removal credits and has already mobilized over US$ 500 million in financial commitments, earning recognition as the Environmental Finance Impact Investment of the Year. Models like this are vital for unlocking climate finance for NbS, which currently receive less than 3% of global climate funding. 

Learn more about the finalist poster: https://mapgallery.esri.com/submission-detail/40367 

CI‑Brazil’s Technological Edge in Nature-based Solutions   

Beyond the finalist strategy, CI–Brazil presented five additional innovative approaches at the conference, demonstrating how cutting-edge geotechnology, science, and innovation are expanding the impact of conservation, sustainable production, and restoration across diverse regions. 

• Sustainable forest management via carbon accounting: Developed with Sustainacraft Inc., this approach combines satellite imagery and field data to estimate biomass growth and carbon stocks in restoration areas. Preliminary results reveal its ability to detect short-term biomass changes and calibrate predictive models—making large-scale restoration monitoring more efficient and accessible. 

• Biodiversity monitoring in Panará Indigenous Land: Under a partnership with HP Inc., CI–Brazil trained Indigenous youths to use tools like QuickCapture, Survey123, and StoryMap to track wildlife. Locally recorded data now exceeds 270 animal observations, bolstering territorial governance and environmental management under deforestation pressure. 

• Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Project (ASL‑Brazil): Coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, funded by the GEF, and implemented by the World Bank, this initiative integrates conservation, restoration, land tenure regularization, and socio-biodiversity across four Amazonian states. GIS-supported planning has enabled robust results: 900,000 ha under sustainable practices, 1.4 million ha enabled for forest concession, 27,000 rural properties supported in ecological adaptation, benefiting around 3,000 people. 

• Green-grey infrastructure in coastal Pará and Amapá: Through participatory mapping and GIS, CI–Brazil identified target areas for hybrid infrastructure that merge mangrove and reef ecosystems with conventional engineering. Out of the 21 priority regions, the PA‑458 corridor is being piloted to reinstate hydrological flow and regenerate mangroves. Decision-making was driven by the CBA (Triple Baseline Analysis), assessing the costs, benefits, and environmental impact of each alternative. 

• CIERA – AI-powered restoration tool: Developed with Microsoft, Threshold.World, Esri, University of Maryland, and Utah State University, CIERA uses AI to pinpoint top-priority restoration areas by integrating spatial data, policy frameworks, and scientific protocols. Already attracting attention from governments and private sector entities, it combines dispersed data into a single interface, enabling community leaders and decision-makers to access tailored restoration guidance with ease. 

CI–Brazil’s strong presence in the technical poster presentations underscores its leadership in scientific and technological innovation—anchored by the Directorate of Knowledge Management, led by Bruno Coutinho. 

Technological Trends Shaping Conservation’s Future   

During the Esri User Conference 2025, the CI-Brasil team closely followed a series of innovations that are set to transform how technology is applied to nature conservation.