A Brazilian ecological park has launched a campaign to save endangered plant species, exemplifying the country's efforts to regreen logged-out areas of the Atlantic Forest.
The Atlantic Forest, one of the most ecologically-diverse ecosystems on Earth, stretches across Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
In recent years, due to deforestation and other reasons, the Atlantic Forest has been severely damaged and thousands of tree species have been listed as endangered species.
In Ekoa Park in Morretes, the state of Parana, Brazil, jucara palm is on display at a noticeable place.
The palm, which is native to the Atlantic Rainforest, has been illegally harvested for its delicious heart of palm, or Palmito.
"Many Palmito collectors enter the forest and illegally cut down the palm trees, taking away forest resources in bundles. It is now listed on the red list of threatened species and is at risk of extinction," said Tatiana Perim, executive director of Ekoa Park.
As part of the efforts to save jucara palm and other endangered plant species, Ekoa Park has cooperated with environmental protection organizations and enterprises to launch a themed project, under which a team of experts regularly enters the forest to collect seeds of about 50 endangered trees.
"We go into the forest and identify these trees, which is not easy, mainly because they are endangered and there are not many individuals. Once identified, we tag them with GPS. Then we store all the coordinates of these trees in a database and check the registered areas once a month to collect seeds," said Victor Paul Lynette, a forestry engineer.
The team will then cultivate the collected seeds, and when the seedlings meet the conditions for transplanting, they will be distributed to 200 registered volunteers to plant across multiple locations.
Before planting a seedling, volunteers will write down information about the tree on a piece of paper and leave it right at where the seedling is planted.
After planting it, volunteers will record the location and other information on a mobile app.
So far, under the project, nearly 6,800 seedlings have been distributed to volunteers to plant across the states of Parana, Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo.
Brazilian ecological park races to save endangered plant species
Brazilian ecological park races to save endangered plant species
Some Iranians in Türkiye are crossing back over the border, driven by worry and desperation, as a nationwide communications blackout in Iran has left them cut off from their loved ones.
Protests have erupted in many Iranian cities since Dec. 28. They initially began with Tehran bazaar merchants demonstrating against the sharp devaluation of the national currency rial, and soaring inflation, before spreading to other cities. The unrest has led to casualties among both security forces and civilians.
At the Turkish-Iranian border, many are returning with no certainty about what awaits them, filled instead with questions and growing fear for those on the other side of the border.
"I went to Van yesterday for internet. I urgently needed to use the internet. I got it done. Now I'm heading straight back. There are protests everywhere. We can't get any news. We can't communicate with our families. And it's not just me, there are many Iranians outside the country who can't reach their families," said Feriste, an Iranian citizen.
With communications blacked out across Iran, those outside the country feel powerless to check on the situation back home. For some, this silence has prompted them to return across the border, even as tensions continue to rise.
"We can't get any news. There is no internet. Everything is shut down. I want to search. I want to find out. I want to see my brother. I'm going to see my family," said Husnu, an Iranian citizen.
"I work in Türkiye, and I have no news from Iran at all. I'm going back because I'm worried about my family. It's been days since I last heard from them, and because I'm worried, I'm returning to Iran now. Of course, we are concerned about our safety. We don't know what awaits us there," said another Iranian.
With protests escalating and government blackouts still in place, many Iranians are caught between staying in safety abroad and risking everything to reconnect with their families.
"We had to come to Türkiye because we couldn't reach our families. Schools were closed already. All official institutions were shut down. We have no information about other cities either, because there is no communication network there. There is no television, no internet. We can't even check Twitter," said Nazlican, another Iranian citizen.
Iranians in Türkiye return home, fearing for their families amid unrest in Iran
Iranians in Türkiye return home, fearing for their families amid unrest in Iran
