A force of nature

One day, without considering the magnitude of what she was contemplating, Lélia Wanick Salgado looked at the devastated land of the Salgado family’s property and said: “Let’s replant the forest.”

“Sebastião loved the idea, and we decided to start right away,” she remembers. But it was a massive undertaking. “We didn’t have a book telling us how to do it.” Lélia recalls the many setbacks Instituto Terra, now nearly three decades in operation, faced early on. Yet as the person whose vision, drive and energy led to the initial idea, she certainly wasn’t going to give up. After all, it was Lélia’s hard work – from curating Sebastião’s photographic oeuvre, organizing archives, to designing exhibitions and books – that built the momentum that powered the forest’s return. And in the end, it has succeeded.

Gaining momentum

“We have managed to replant a forest and rebuild local biodiversity thanks to our own efforts and partnerships established to carry out this ecological project, which has become a global benchmark in the environmental field,” Lélia says.

She is quick to put aside any doubts about Instituto Terra’s long-term success. It isn’t stopping. It is gaining momentum, and there are many plans for the future. “We must maintain what has been done so far and also expand. Instituto Terra is concrete proof that it is possible, not a dream, to transform arid land into a living, lush forest,” Lélia says. In appreciation of her efforts, in 2023, she received the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, which recognizes exceptional contributions to climate action and solutions that inspire hope and possibility.

Lélia’s energy and drive, organization and determination enabled Instituto Terra to succeed. It was a project that demanded all her talents. “She’s a great designer and businesswoman and a wonderful, warm, funny human being,” says Neil Burgess, who has been Sebastião Salgado’s agent since 1986.

A life project

The Salgados met in Vitória, Espírito Santo, in 1964. “The day I met Lélia was the main event of my life. She has an energy that few people have,” Sebastião remembered, while she recalled that right from the very start, both “realized something strong had begun... a life project.” The physical work of replanting a forest was exhausting, and they had to convince skeptical locals. Some thought the project, which the Salgados helped to fund, would, in Lélia’s words, be nothing more than a waste of money, destined for “the graveyard of dollars.”

In the first year, Lélia recalled, they lost over half the seedlings they planted. The next year, things got a little better. “We learned from experience to wait for the rain and plant when the rain was coming,” Lélia says. Setbacks became lessons.

Looking to the future

From planting trees, the undertaking has grown to encompass many projects, ranging from community programs to all aspects of restoring an ecosystem. Lélia is a member of the board of Instituto Terra, and also runs the office managing Sebastião Salgado’s photographic work in Paris.

Instituto Terra’s first cycle of life coincided with more frequent and more severe droughts along the length of the Rio Doce Valley, a major new challenge. But thanks to the Salgados’ commitment, energy, vision and idealism, Instituto Terra has demonstrated that restoring a native forest is possible. And the proof of this is the thick blanket of trees, revived water sources and the return of animals that had long ago fled the area. Perhaps the most powerful lesson offered by this experience is the simplest: through Instituto Terra, Lélia and Sebastião have shown that individuals can make a real difference.