New York, NY – 28 October 2025 – BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (BTG Pactual TIG), one of the world’s largest timberland managers, today announced that an investment from GenZero, a Temasek-owned investment platform focused on accelerating decarbonization globally, will bring the total capital mobilized to date for their Latin American reforestation strategy to US$672 million. The BTG Pactual TIG reforestation strategy, one of the largest initiatives of its kind, seeks to mobilize US$ 1 Billion to conserve, restore, and reforest approximately 270,000 hectares of degraded landscapes in Latin America. Conservation International serves as Impact Adviser to the strategy, providing input and advice to help BTG Pactual TIG achieve positive environmental, climate, and social impacts related to the conservation and restoration aspects of the initiative.
The BTG Pactual TIG reforestation strategy focuses on restoring biodiversity and climate resilience in critical ecosystems in Latin America, including Brazil’s Cerrado biome – one of the most biodiverse seasonally dry ecosystems in the world. With approximately half of the Cerrado already converted to other uses such as degraded pastureland, large-scale restoration is essential for biodiversity recovery.
To date, restoration is underway across more than 11,000 hectares of native and biodiverse Cerrado vegetation. This is expected to create more than 40,000 hectares of connected habitat for local biodiversity – an area approximately one-third the size of Rio de Janeiro. More than 500 flora and fauna species have already been identified across the strategy’s properties.
At full scale, the strategy is expected to protect and restore approximately 135,000 hectares of native forests and other habitats, while planting millions of trees across approximately 135,000 additional hectares as sustainably managed commercial tree farms, certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)™ standards. The initiative is expected to support approximately 2,700 direct and indirect full-time jobs once fully deployed, significantly increasing employment compared with traditional land uses, such as cattle ranching.
Hoon Ling Min, Director of Investments at GenZero, said: “We are proud to partner with BTG Pactual TIG and Conservation International on one of the largest private sector-led restoration strategies in Latin America. By restoring natural ecosystems and enhancing biodiversity, whilst sustainably producing timber and generating high-integrity carbon credits, this initiative supports the transition to a net zero world and builds long-term resilience for local communities.”
Mauricio Bianco, Vice President at Conservation International-Brazil, said: “What’s happening in the Cerrado is proof that restoration at scale is possible when science and finance work together. This project is helping turn degraded land into thriving habitat again. By combining science-based restoration with sustainable land management, it’s showing how sustainable production and nature can not only coexist, but strengthen one another.”
Mark Wishnie, Chief Sustainability Officer at BTG Pactual TIG, said: “GenZero’s commitment is a strong validation of the BTG Pactual TIG Latin American reforestation strategy as a model for how large-scale, science-based restoration can deliver climate, biodiversity, and community benefits. We are thrilled to partner with GenZero to deploy capital at scale to restore ecosystems, create jobs, and generate significant climate impact.”
The strategy also includes what may be the largest restoration experiment ever conducted in the Cerrado, through a long-term research partnership between BTG Pactual TIG, Conservation International, and the Federal University of Viçosa. This collaboration will test the effectiveness of different restoration methods, such as direct seeding, native seedling planting, and natural regeneration techniques, and should provide valuable data to guide future forest restoration efforts both within Brazil and globally.
About GenZero
GenZero is an investment platform company focused on accelerating decarbonisation globally. Founded by Temasek, we seek to deliver positive climate impact alongside long-term sustainable financial returns by investing in opportunities with the potential to be nurtured into impactful and scalable solutions.
Driven by a common purpose to decarbonise for future generations, we recognise the need for a holistic and integrated approach to achieve a net zero world. At GenZero, we adopt a flexible investment approach across three focus areas to drive climate impact: (i) nature-based solutions that help protect and restore our natural ecosystems while benefiting local communities and biodiversity; (ii) technology-based solutions that deliver deep decarbonisation impact; and (iii) carbon ecosystem enablers which refer to companies and solutions that support the development of an effective, efficient and credible carbon ecosystem.
For more information on GenZero, visit https://www.genzero.co.
About Conservation International
Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more, and follow our work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
About BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG)
BTG Pactual TIG is one of the world’s largest timberland managers with US$7.3 billion assets and commitments and 2.9 million acres under management throughout the U.S. and Latin America (as of Q2, 2025). Its team of more than 160 professionals has an on-the-ground presence through 22 offices, bringing local, regional, and global experience to bear on the careful management of client investments. See our website for more information and important disclosures: www.timberlandinvestmentgroup.com.
