Atlantic lifeline

Listen. These are the sounds of a healthy forest: water gushing from springs, flowing to rivers, augmenting the solos of birds splashing and bursting into squawking alarm when a rare jaguar appears out of the undergrowth, and silently vanishes. These forest sounds are the sound of life. Sebastião Salgado and Lélia Wanick Salgado had already lived several lives when in 1998 they decided to reforest a badly degraded family farm in the interior of Brazil, located in the state of Minas Gerais. Almost 30 years earlier, they had fled Brazil’s military dictatorship to study in Paris: economics for Sebastião, architecture for Lélia. To help in her studies, she bought a camera. “Sebastião,” she recalls, “grabbed it, took a photo of me, and on that day the photographer was born.” It was 1971. Abandoning his career as an economist, Sebastião worked as a photojournalist, first for agencies – Sygma, then Gamma, and finally Magnum – until he created Amazonas Images together with Lélia.

Photography changed their lives. Sebastião took on global themes and Lélia designed books and exhibitions as part of these projects. The work demanded extensive travel. Lélia joined many of the trips. The planet became their subject, ranging from northern Africa, to human labor and mass movements of people, or fauna and flora that have survived modern development. Most recently, it includes a stunning celebration of the world’s largest rainforest and its indigenous communities in ‘Amazônia’ – with Zurich as the main global sponsor of the international Amazônia exhibition.

Yet their decision to restore a section of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, also known as the Mata Atlântica, was arguably the most daring and rewarding initiative they were to take. They founded Instituto Terra, a non-profit organization with the mission of reforesting the Salgado family property in the Rio Doce Valley with native species that had once flourished there. The land became a Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN), a status similar to a national park. Their early efforts were discouraging. Seedlings died in the depleted soil. With successive attempts, increasing numbers of trees survived. Over 20 years, what the Salgados had begun became a reality: Instituto Terra planted 2.5 million trees. Insects, birds, and mammals – some on the verge of extinction – returned. Locals who once derided the project started to feel its benefits. Springs, perhaps numbering in the thousands, long dormant, began to flow once again.

The Zurich Forest Project

In 2020, Zurich became a sponsor of Instituto Terra. It was a decisive time. The forest needed to increase density for long-term viability. An additional 100 hectares, beyond the existing 600, had to be reforested. So, the Zurich Forest Project began with a commitment to fund the planting and care of one million native trees. Zurich extended its engagement in 2022, enabling Instituto Terra to nearly triple its area by the end of 2024. Zurich continued to support Instituto Terra in its efforts to restore fragile ecosystems. And, with Zurich’s support, it acquired critical machinery and equipment, and built a new nursery to vastly increase the number of seedlings it produces. First to one million a year, with plans to double that to two million, with a special focus on species resilient to climate stress.

Instituto Terra’s education programs are an important part of its work. Its ‘NERE’ initiative providing technical training for young people is gaining support with the help of Zurich’s charitable institution, the Z Zurich Foundation.

On May 23, 2025, Sebastião Salgado passed away. But the work goes on. Ensuring continuity, Lélia remains on the board, providing consistency of vision, while the Salgados’ eldest son, Juliano, who took a more active role in overseeing its development in 2020, continues to preside over the future of the institution.

By bringing life back to the forest, the forest is giving back of itself, offering value to replenish individual lives and entire communities. With deep care, dedication, and hard work, regrowing the forest is an idea that became tangible reality. A forest once thought of as a liability has become a valuable lifeline.