# Instituto Terra

> Restoring Atlantic Forest and springs in Brazil's Rio Doce basin since 1998

Source: https://treerm.org/org/instituto-terra · Updated 2026-11-07 · Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://treerm.org/about#license)

## Facts

- Type: Nonprofit
- Scope: Regional
- Headquarters: Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Founded: 1998
- Website: https://institutoterra.org
- Donate: https://institutoterra.org/doe/
- Countries where they plant: Brazil
- Activity types: Reforestation (primary), Nurseries & seedlings, Education & advocacy, Research & monitoring
- Trees on record: 3,500,000 (larger of latest cumulative figure and sum of annual figures; trees planted or distributed)

## About

Instituto Terra was founded in 1998 by Lélia Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado on the family's former cattle farm, Fazenda Bulcão, in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, which became a Private Natural Heritage Reserve on condition that it be restored. It runs a native-species nursery, restores Atlantic Forest on the 709 ha reserve and neighbouring farms (2,346 ha managed in total), and works with rural families to recover springs across the Rio Doce basin through its Olhos D'Água and Terra Doce programs. It also runs environmental education and technical training centres.

## Programs

- **Ecosystem Restoration** — Reforestation (1999–present): Restores Atlantic Forest on the Fazenda Bulcão reserve and neighbouring farms in the Rio Doce basin with seedlings from the institute's own nursery.
- **Native species nursery** — Nurseries & seedlings: Produces native Atlantic Forest seedlings from seed collected within a 200 km radius for the institute's own planting and partner projects.
- **Olhos D'Água / Terra Doce** — Reforestation (2010–present): Works with rural families to fence, replant and protect springs and water recharge areas across the Rio Doce basin.
- **Environmental education (Terrinhas, Terra Jovens, NERE)** — Education & advocacy: Programs for children, youth and technical professionals on ecological restoration.

## Metrics

> Note: Instituto Terra's 2024 annual report gives 253,573 seedlings planted in its forest and 405,443 seedlings grown in its nursery for 2024 alone, and 3.3 million trees planted and 7.46 million seedlings grown since 1998. Its website rounds the lifetime figure up to 3.5 million trees.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Trees planted | 2025 | 3,500,000 | yes (to date) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://institutoterra.org/en/) Website: '3,5 milhões de árvores plantadas' in '27 anos de atuação' |
| Trees planted | 2024 | 253,573 | no (that year) | Ecosystem Restoration | Self-reported | [source](https://institutoterra.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Annual-Report-2024.pdf) Annual Activity Report 2024, p.22 'Our impact, In 2024 alone' infographic: '253,573 seedlings planted in our forest' and '405,443 seedlings from 105 native species cultivated in our nursery'. Pairing confirmed visually from a rendered image of the page on 2026-11-07 (number sits directly above its label) |
| Trees planted | 2024 | 3,300,000 | yes (to date) | Ecosystem Restoration | Self-reported | [source](https://institutoterra.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Annual-Report-2024.pdf) Annual Activity Report 2024, p.19 'Ecosystem restoration' (cumulative panel): '+3.3million trees planted in our forest' since 1998; p.7 also says the forest 'is home to more than 3 million trees' |
| Seedlings produced | 2024 | 7,459,193 | yes (to date) | Native species nursery | Self-reported | [source](https://institutoterra.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Annual-Report-2024.pdf) Annual Activity Report 2024, p.19: '7,459,193 native seedlings cultivated in our nursery' (cumulative) |

Confidence: self-reported is the organization's own published figure; independently verified means a third party confirmed it; estimated means TreeRM derived it and the note says how.

## Links

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/institutoterraoficial/
- facebook: https://web.facebook.com/InstitutoTerraOficial/
- linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/institutoterra/
- youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSrfBg4WSZqXGUihU6H5hXg

JSON: https://treerm.org/api/v1/organizations/instituto-terra