Brazilian Dam Owner Uses Island Seed Bank to Replenish Amazon Rainforests Amid Deforestation Threats

AXIA Energia, the owner of the Tucuruí hydroelectric dam in Brazil, is using an island within the dam's reservoir to replenish deforested areas of the Amazon. The island, which was once used for wood and materials, now supplies seeds for seedlings that are distributed across the country. Workers on the island collect seeds from towering trees and sift through them by hand. Last year, they gathered almost nine million seeds, and are on pace to greatly exceed that this year. The seed bank stores about 30 million seeds in three chambers.