Source - Ecology - Projects
The Atlantic and Amazon rainforests, two of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, are home to an abundance of botanical treasures, many of which are not found anywhere else in the world. These vibrant ecosystems produce plants which mirror the resilience and strength of the rainforests themselves.
Each Joia product is made with premium ingredients sustainably harvested from the rainforest by locals in these regions. Our Copaiba Oil, Babassu Oil, Andiroba Oil, Cupuassu Butter, and others (see ingredients page for more info) are premium, naturally-organic, wild-harvested ingredients that are good for both your skin and the environment. The harvesting of these ingredients creates sustainable sources of income for local communities and bolsters incentive to preserve, replant, and maintain the remaining rainforests in Brazil.
Joia is currently working on a rural essential oil production project in Brazil, as well as other projects in the state of Bahia.
Atlantic Rainforest
- Originally covered 1,360,000 km2, from the northern state of Ceara all the way to Rio Gande do Sul, a distance greater than that of Maine to the Florida Keys. Today only 7% remains.
- Of the roughly 400 species threatened with extinction in Brazil, 237 are found in the disappearing Atlantic Rainforest.
- The forest is a thick, dense mass of diverse vegetation, where trees weave in and out of one another. The tallest trees reach up to 60 meters in height and meet one another at the top creating a dense canopy for what lies beneath, one of the richest ecosystems in the world with over 20,000 species.
- 55% of all trees are endemic to the region. Almost 50% of all plants do not exist anywhere else in the world.
-Cutting wood for day-to-day use
-Sugar and coffee plantations
-Cattle raising
Numerous materials can be harvested sustainably from this forest while providing a source of income to the people that live in these areas, including cocoa and yerba mate.
Learn more:
www.nature.org/wherewework/southamerica/brazil/work/art5080.html
www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/atlantic_forest/Pages/default.aspx
www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/brazil.htm
Amazon Rainforest
- Brazil's Amazon Rainforest is as large as western Europe and covers 60 percent of the country's territory. Experts say as much as 20 percent of its 1.6 million square miles has already been destroyed by development, logging and farming.
- As an alternative to destructive forest practices, communities in the region are developing sustainable income sources through the harvesting and cultivation of goods that grow naturally in the rainforest.
- The Amazonian botanicals used in Joia products are all sustainably harvested by communities in these regions.
www.nature.org/wherewework/southamerica/brazil/work/art5079.html
rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_conservation.html