Program Seeding Forests, Harvesting Water in the Rio Santo Antônio in the municipality of Conceição do Mato Dentro – Minas Gerais (Brazil)

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Updated: 15/12/2025
Program Seeding Forests, Harvesting Water in the Rio Santo Antônio in the municipality of Conceição do Mato Dentro – Minas Gerais (Brazil)

Project Overview

The micro hydrographic basin of the upper Santo Antônio River is located in a territory of 32,280 hectares and has as its centrality the main water courses and their areas of water recharge, from the main source to the catchment area for public supply, already in the city of Conceição do Mato Dentro. The Santo Antônio river stands out for having several areas of drainage headwaters located in the Serra do Espinhaço Biosphere Reserve, which in turn provide peculiar characteristics in relation to the other units of the Doce river basin. The Santo Antônio river basin has a direct and indirect relationship with a population of around 190,000 people and covers the following municipalities: Açucena, Alvorada de Minas, Antônio Dias, Belo Oriente, Braúnas, Carmésia, Conceição do Mato Dentro, Congonhas do North, Dom Joaquim, Dores de Guanhães, Ferros, Guanhães, Itabira, Itambé do Mato Dentro, Joanésia, Materlândia, Mesquita, Morro do Pilar, Naque, Passabém, Sabinópolis, Santa Maria. | A particularity of the micro hydrographic basin of the upper Santo Antônio River is the presence of vegetation characterized as highland fields and rocky fields, in addition to savannah vegetation, which clearly marks the transition between the domain of the Atlantic Forest and the domain influenced by the largest basin altitudes when approaching the Cerrado biome.

Conserve Process NO
Enhance Process YES
Apply Complementary YES

Ecosystem Services

Provisioning

  • Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
  • Fresh water: Ecosystems play a vital role in the global hydrological cycle, as they regulate the flow and purification of water. Vegetation and forests influence the quantity of water available locally.

Regulating

  • Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
  • Waste-water treatment: Ecosystems such as wetlands filter both human and animal waste and act as a natural buffer to the surrounding environment. Through the biological activity of microorganisms in the soil, most waste is broken down. Thereby pathogens (disease causing microbes) are eliminated, and the level of nutrients and pollution is reduced.

Habitat / Supporting

  • Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.

Cultural

  • Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.

Major Issues

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No issues provided.

EH Engineering Solutions

The Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on

The Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antonio River identified priority areas for environmental recovery. Areas of great relevance are forests and other forms of natural vegetation located on the shores of lakes or rivers (perennial or not); on the tops of hills; in sandbanks and mangroves; on slopes with a steep slope and on the edges of plateaus or plateaus with an inclination greater than 45º; and in areas at altitudes greater than 1,800 meters, with any vegetation cover. These areas need to be preserved and recovered so as not to cause erosion and landslides and to protect springs, fauna, flora, biodiversity and ensure the well-being of human populations.

The Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on

The Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antônio River implements soil conservation actions, such as the implementation of rainwater and sediment containment basins that promote greater water infiltration in underground systems. The Program also performs forest recomposition with the planting of seedlings of native forest species in areas of springs and riparian forests and enables the isolation of these more sensitive and important areas for water recharge.

Project Activities

  • * Mobilization of rural landowners
  • * Promotion of workshops and training on environmental issues
  • * Symposium for exchanging experiences
  • * Promotion of environmental education activities in schools in the region
  • * Selection of areas for environmental intervention according to studies on the relevance for water recharge within the micro basin of the upper Santo Antônio river
  • * Elaboration of customized implementation programs for each property
  • * Implement programs designed through the planting of native forest species
  • * Fencing and protection of areas for forest restoration
  • * Promotion of soil and water use and conservation actions in the properties benefited by the program (construction of rainwater containment basins)
  • * Maintenance and monitoring of areas undergoing recovery

Expected Outcomes

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Latest Results

No results provided yet.

Social-Ecological System

Integrated view of principles, objectives, stakeholders and methodology.

Ecohydrology Principles and Solutions

Hydrological Quantification
  • Quantification of the hydrological processes at catchment scale and mapping the impacts
Ecological Identification
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Ecological Engineering & Nature-based Solutions
  • The Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antonio River identified priority areas for environmental recovery. Areas of great relevance are forests and other forms of natural vegetation located on the shores of lakes or rivers (perennial or not); on the tops of hills; in sandbanks and mangroves; on slopes with a steep slope and on the edges of plateaus or plateaus with an inclination greater than 45º; and in areas at altitudes greater than 1,800 meters, with any vegetation cover. These areas need to be preserved and recovered so as not to cause erosion and landslides and to protect springs, fauna, flora, biodiversity and ensure the well-being of human populations. | The Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antônio River implements soil conservation actions, such as the implementation of rainwater and sediment containment basins that promote greater water infiltration in underground systems. The Program also performs forest recomposition with the planting of seedlings of native forest species in areas of springs and riparian forests and enables the isolation of these more sensitive and important areas for water recharge.

Objectives

EH Objectives
Water 5/5
Biodiversity 4/5
Services 4/5
Resilience 4/5
Cultural Heritage 0/5
Project Objectives
  • Within the scope of actions carried out in the Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antônio river, there are activities that provoke the residents of the region to reflections that lead to changes in paradigms. Through Environmental Education actions, the Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antônio River has been promoting learning moments for rural producers in the region. Compliance with the legislation contained in the Brazilian Forestry Code has permeated the conversations and approaches of collaborators in the Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antônio River with rural producers.

Key Stakeholders

Federal University of Itajubá (Itabira Campus) Federal University of São João Del Rey (Campus Sete Lagoas) Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (Campus Diamantina) The Federal University of Minas Gerais. state of Minas Gerais The Municipality of Conceição do Mato Dentro

Methodology

  • The reforestation of strategic areas for water recharge has produced significant results. These actions have already caused a gradual increase in the water capacity of springs that were presenting a scenario of complete perishing.
  • Plant recomposition with native tree species has contributed directly to the restoration of ecosystems. Some residents of the region report the perception of the return of species of birds and wild animals in areas that are presenting an advanced stage of recovery.
  • The production of water from the springs in the region of the micro hydrographic basin of the upper Santo Antônio river is one of the ecosystem services that are at the heart of the Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program proposal on the Santo Antonio River.
  • The increase in forested areas helps to regulate the local microclimate. Milder temperatures create more comfortable conditions for human development and food production. Actions to recompose native vegetation promoted by the Sowing Forests, Harvesting Waters program on the Santo Antônio River aim to increase the resilience of the territory of the micro hydrographic basin of the Santo Antonio River, creating a scenario more capable of minimizing the effects of climate change.