Brazil Launches RAIZ Initiative to Combat Global Land Degradation
belém, Brazil – November 10, 2025 – During the COP30 climate conference in Belém, Brazil announced the launch of RAIZ (Resilient Agriculture Investment for Net Zero Land Degradation), a new international effort focused on restoring degraded agricultural lands worldwide. The initiative, spearheaded by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture adn Livestock (MAPA), seeks to mobilize financial resources and facilitate the sharing of proven technologies to address a critical global challenge.
RAIZ is a collaborative undertaking, receiving support from the Ministry of Agrarian Progress (Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário/MDA) and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Ministério da Pesca e Aquicultura/MPA). A key partnership with the Food and Agriculture Institution of the United Nations (FAO) will be central to the initiative’s success.
The launch comes as concerns over global food security and ecosystem health intensify. Data reveals the scale of the problem: the United Nations estimates that 2 billion hectares of land globally are currently degraded,impacting the livelihoods of 3.2 billion people. Deforestation continues at an alarming rate, with the FAO reporting approximately 10 million hectares of forest lost annually. Recent figures from Global Forest Watch (2024) indicate the loss of primary tropical forests reached approximately 6.7 million hectares in the past year alone.
RAIZ aims to build upon existing accomplished programs, notably MAPA’s Caminho Verde initiative, by scaling up effective restoration strategies internationally. The initiative will prioritize strengthening international cooperation to not only rehabilitate degraded land but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create sustainable economic opportunities for rural communities.
Further details on the RAIZ initiative and related Brazilian programs can be found here.
By Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply
English version: Trad. Barbara Menezes. Proofreading by Enrique Villamil.
