Brazil

Mata Viva^®

The Mata Viva^® initiative in Brazil was founded in 1984, to protect water quality, conserve soil, and create areas to preserve native vegetation and wildlife. The first major milestone was the restoration of 128 hectares of riparian forest along the Paraíba do Sul River near the company's largest South American chemical complex in Guaratinguetá. Over the years, Mata Viva^® has restored over 875 hectares and planted more than 1.4 million seedlings. The program grew in strength and visibility, engaging agricultural, scientific, and business communities.

Why

The Espaço ECO Foundation, founded by BASF in cooperation with GTZ (German governmental agency) and in partnership with local entities, has coordinated the initiative and expanded its work with farmers and communities across more than 150 municipalities in Brazil since 2005. Mata Viva^® celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024 with a major reforestation campaign involving all BASF business areas and employees in Brazil. As part of the initiative, 40,000 native seedlings were planted, marking four decades of commitment to forest restoration and biodiversity. To increase transparency and engagement, the Mata Viva Dashboard - an interactive web page - was launched to display the geographic locations of all tree plantings conducted by Mata Viva^® since 1984.

How

Uniting partners across agriculture, business, and science to promote biodiversity, Mata Viva^® integrates biodiversity research with farming practices to support productive agriculture alongside thriving ecosystems. Today, the program reaches thousands of farmers, students, agribusinesses, universities, research centers, and private companies to restore land, improve farming methods, and demonstrate how sustainable agriculture supports business success. In 2024, two additional biodiversity assessments were completed at BASF sites in Jacareí and Batistini (both in São Paulo), and the Jacareí site received Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) certification in recognition of its conservation efforts. Across five BASF sites in Brazil - Demarchi, Batistini, Guaratinguetá, Jacareí, and the Experimental Station in Santo Antônio de Posse - the company maintains about 290 hectares of restored native vegetation, with more than 250 native tree species recorded, reflecting the diversity of local biomes.

Beyond Brazil, Mata Viva^® extended support to BASF’s General Lagos site in Argentina, where over 400 native trees were planted to initiate the “Bosque BASF.” In Chile, a preliminary ecological survey was conducted at the BASF Concon site to map forested areas, identify species, and estimate carbon storage. Mata Viva^® also played an active role in internal environmental awareness efforts, participating in workplace safety and environmental weeks at several BASF sites in South America to raise awareness about forest conservation and the role of the program. At the Experimental Station in Santo Antônio de Posse (São Paulo state), the environmental education program continued in partnership with the local education department, welcoming over 150 children to visit the forest area and learn about the intersection between agricultural research and biodiversity preservation.

Result

SDGs

Encouraging long-term behavioral change, Mata Viva’s educational module trains future farmers in balancing environmental protection and productive agriculture, classroom formats teach children to value nature and the environment.

By restoring degraded land and planting trees, soil health is promoted and carbon sequestered.

Mata Viva creates protected areas for preserving native vegetation and wildlife, contributes to species enrichment and forest diversity.

We partner with farmers, universities, NGOs and the private sector to join forces in fostering research, promoting sustainable farming and protecting biodiversity.