EMPOWERING RURAL COMMUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST RESTORATION

“I see ISA as the best opportunity to enhance my skills and empower local communities for habitat restoration, addressing climate change impacts in Brazil.”

Nondas Silva (32) is a forest engineer with extensive experience in empowering rural communities in Minas Gerais, Brazil. He empowers rural communities through native seed collection for landscape restoration within the globally significant hotspot Cerrado Biome. He also leads the New Era Institute, a newly established NGO aimed at supporting rural and local organizations. Passionate about nature, Nondas has developed capacity-building programs to empower and enhance the capabilities of rural communities and traditional populations.

At ISA, Nondas is developing strategies to empower rural communities in Minas Gerais, by expanding seed collection and scaling up restoration efforts in the Cerrado Biome. His project emphasises the importance of training and partnerships for a holistic approach towards achieving sustainable development. At ISA he is also working towards improving the community-based restoration approach of the Cerrado Biome by implementing a sustainable business model.