Hydro Paragominas, located in Pará, is the first bauxite mining company in Brazil to bet on innovation to scale up environmental rehabilitation, with the use of drones in the Brazilian Amazon. For this initiative, the company hired the Franco-Brazilian startup Morfo, whose method will be tested and has the potential to become one of the company's options, which also works with nucleation, traditional planting, and natural regeneration.

"This initiative will contribute and reinforce the rehabilitation goals of Hydro Paragominas. We are constantly seeking innovative solutions in the market for the initiatives of the mine, working on the sustainability of our operations through technology. Hydro Paragominas positions itself as the first mining company to use drones for planting native tree species in the Brazilian Amazon," comments Jonilton Paschoal, Environmental Manager at Hydro Paragominas.

This is the initial kick-off of the Hydro Paragominas initiative which, for this stage, foresees an investment of more than US$ 542,971.80. Currently, more than 3,000 hectares have been reforested in the region of Hydro Paragominas since 2009. In 2023, about 328 hectares were rehabilitated by the company, of which approximately 70% of the reforestation was carried out using the nucleation technique, 25% through traditional planting, and 5% through natural regeneration. The hydroseeding technique was also applied to approximately 5 hectares.

The company's initiative will be applied in tests considering different scenarios, totaling 50 hectares. Of these, 25 hectares received soils from pastures in the region and will now receive vegetative enrichment with Morfo's technology. The other 25 hectares are from a recently mined area. "Our system makes a highly personalized plan according to the specific needs of each portion of land, applying the most appropriate resources for each one, and using a team of two people and one drone for planting, which allows for restoring larger extensions more efficiently," says Adrien Pages, CEO of Morfo.

Stages of the new methodology

The Hydro Paragominas initiative includes soil diagnosis, done from satellite and drone images, to map the topography, water resources, and existing vegetation cover. In the laboratory, other characteristics are analyzed from soil samples, such as compaction, humidification, and mineral and organic composition.

With the diagnosis in hand, the next step consists of identifying native species with the best chances of success for that soil, including varieties from the three stages of ecological succession, such as ground plants, shrubs, and trees, and the key species studied by Hydro Paragominas. The seeds will be wrapped in a nutritious capsule before being distributed.

The third stage is the dispersion of the seeds. One of the advantages of this method is the ease of logistics for remote areas, without the need for the displacement of people or interventions in the environment. With a single drone, it is possible to disperse 180 capsules and seeds of multiple species per minute.

The startup partner of Hydro Paragominas was recognized by the World Economic Forum's Trillion Trees Challenge, the Google Startup for Sustainable Development program, and the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label.

About MORFO

Founded in 2021 by Adrien Pages, Hugo Asselin, and Pascal Asselin, the Franco-Brazilian startup MORFO developed a unique method of large-scale reforestation in four stages: soil analysis, seed selection in the laboratory followed by encapsulation, seed launching by drone, and project monitoring. The goal is to fully and sustainably reconstruct forest ecosystems, to combat climate change and protect biodiversity. In Brazil, it has strategic partnerships for scientific collaboration with UFSCar and UFV, and also with NGOs such as the Instituto Terra and Environmental Preservation and networks of seed collectors, expanding actions of positive social impact both by valuing knowledge and by developing local labor. So far, it has recovered 600 hectares of forest.