Two major players in the global pulp and paper industry have partnered to launch a pilot programme to protect biodiversity in the Amazon region.

Brazil’s Suzano, the world’s biggest hardwood pulp producer, and Italy-headquartered tissue paper producer Sofidel on Thursday announced a three-year pilot project under the name “Together we plant the future”.

The two-pronged scheme will create a biodiversity corridor to boost connectivity in a 2,210 sq. km area of rainforest on the border between the Brazilian states of Maranhao and Para.

Combining restoration of natural habitats and sustainable agroforestry systems, the project will be part of Sofano’s ambition to create such corridors on half a million hectares, providing habitat for species like jaguar, red-necked aracari, channel-billed toucan, and the South American tapir.

“Businesses can change the word for the better, but we can’t do it alone. If we work together we can magnify our impact. This is why we are excited to partner with one of our biggest customers, Sofidel, to accelerate the promising early impact that we have seen in our social and environmental sustainability programmes,” Paulo Jose de Souza Chaer Borges, Suzano’s managing director for EMEA, said in a press release.

Additionally, through its investment, Sofidel plans to scale up sustainable business models that can be adopted by communities living in the area.

The company said this can help lift 1,400 family farmers out of poverty while increasing their food security and nutrition quality through activities such as beekeeping and cultivation and commercialisation of native species.

“With decades of experience delivering positive change, we believe Suzano is the right partner for us to work alongside on this pilot programme to bring concrete benefits and a positive impact on the ground. We hope our efforts will create a replicable and scalable model to help lift communities out of poverty in a way that enhances the ecosystem,” said Andrea Pazzolla, Sofidel’s chief purchasing officer.

The companies will work with the Brazilian Institute for Development and Sustainability and Italian non-profit Amazonia Onlus in implementing the pilot scheme.

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