Tree plantation sector defends expanding the dialogon the use of biotechnology

How can we guarantee that forests stay productive and healthy in a climate that is changing faster than trees can adapt? This question was the focus of the Executive Roundtable on Biotechnology for Climate-Resilient Forests, which took place October 14–15 in São Paulo. The event was held by Ibá, the Brazilian Tree Industry, with technical and scientific support from the Institute of Forest Research and Studies (IPEF); it was moderated by Professor Marcos Jank of INSPER, and initiated an international science-based dialog about the role of biotechnology in the future of tree plantations. Over one hundred leaders from the tree plantation sector participated, including Ibá’s president Paulo Hartung and board president Horacio Lafer Piva, as well as researchers and specialists from Brazil and abroad.

The starting point was an urgent diagnosis. Today tree plantations need to prosper within an uncertain and rapidly transforming climate, at the same time that demand for wood is growing. “From now to 2050 we will have a very large increase in demand for industrial logs, from 2 to 3.6 billion cubic meters, with net zero deforestation. In other words, the growth will need to come from existing tree plantations,” noted Jank, addressing projections from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

According to Jank, productivity in Brazil’s forest plantations has been stagnant since 2010, while climate variability and pressure from pests and disease have increased considerably in recent years. Data from IPEF show that the share of Brazil’s monitored eucalyptus plantations which were attacked by pests rose from a yearly average of 14% to 32%, and peaked at 76% in 2025. A study published in the journal Earth Systems and Environment projects that global warming of 4°C could cause up to 89% of the world’s eucalyptus plantations to suffer from reduced water availability.

The first day of the roundtable was organized into three large panels. The opening discussion addressed the impacts of climate change on business and forests. The second introduced routes related to biotechnology, from conventional plant breeding to gene editing and genetic modification. Finally, the third invited guests to discuss regulation, certification and social perceptions of these technologies. After each panel, discussions of these topics continued at each table within a format planned so that all participants could contribute.

The presentations involved scientists from universities in Brazil, the United States and South Africa, as well as companies that are already developing these technologies such as FuturaGene and TreeCo. The guest speakers included José Luiz Stape (UNESP), Bernard Slippers (University of Pretoria), Steve Jacobsen (UCLA), Dror Avisar (FuturaGene), Rodolphe Barrangou (TreeCo and North Carolina State University), Steve Strauss (Oregon State University), the consultant Estevão do Prado Braga and Fred Gould (North Carolina State University).

In the words of Ambassador José Carlos da Fonseca Jr., Ibá’s director for international relations and a panelist at the event, climate resistance is no longer just an environmental issue. “We are a sector within the bioeconomy. Our assets are biological, and are directly affected by the temperature, rain, soil and pests. This influences how companies access capital, reach markets, and ensure client supply. In this sense, we cannot talk about business capacity without addressing climate resilience,” he noted.

One of the main threads in the discussions was how to bring the rule structure of international certification systems like FSC and PEFC, which currently limit use of these biotechnologies, closer to more recent scientific knowledge. In Brazil, CTNBio has already approved 11 genetically modified eucalyptus events, as well as a gene-edited eucalyptus in 2026. The first of these underwent five years of monitoring post-approval with no adverse effects. Still, these trees are not planted on the commercial scale. This is because the certification rules were defined in the early 2000s, when science did not yet have many answers about the long-term effects of this technology, justifying adoption of the precautionary principle.

“The international certifications are highly respected and have played an important role in the sector since the 1990s. The question we are asking is whether we are missing opportunities to advance on the cutting edge of knowledge to combat pests and disease that are worsening with climate change,” added the ambassador, highlighting scientific advances in the sector over the past two decades. “We want to show the certifications that this discussion is not a threat to their reputation, but an opportunity for the certifications to establish a benchmark for the responsible use of these biotechnologies, constructed within their own governance with the perspectives of NGOs, unions and civil society,” stated Camilla Marangon, Ibá’s manager for sustainability and forest policy and a coordinator of the event.

The need for collaboration was also a common point among the participants. In their view, the resilience of tree plantations is a shared asset that no company or country will be able to protect on their own. The potential pathways include broadening the capacity for research and cooperation between companies for pre-competitive developments, which would strengthen the sector as a whole and allow the resulting benefits to reach the entire chain, including small-scale producers.

In the closing session, the participants solidified the first steps. The agenda includes building coalitions inside and outside the sector and pursing certification rules that consider local conditions and biosafety assessments for each country. With society, the path forward is open and transparent debate, with clear communication about why these technologies are important for workers, water, and the climate, for example. The conclusions will be gathered in a technical and executive document drafted with scientific support from IPEF and widely shared.

The schedule also included a visit to the labs at FuturaGene, the biotech branch of Suzano, so that participants could get a close look at what is being developed in the sector. Executives and researchers were able to see how the company has been working on varieties of eucalyptus that are genetically modified (GM) for herbicide tolerance and insect resistance.

The Brazilian tree plantation sector has already demonstrated that production and preservation can and should go hand in hand. According to data from Ibá which were shared by board president Horacio Lafer Piva, today there are 10.7 million hectares of productive tree plantations and an estimated 7.2 million hectares of preserved native vegetation. “We need to take action today to keep our forests productive and competitive. This means combining long-term vision, evidence, responsible innovation and international cooperation,” he stated.

The meeting was presented as the start of a process that should expand to include the certification bodies, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders. “We aren’t aiming at a finish line. This is a starting point, and we will have other discussions like this one, which are sorely needed. This is a patient strategy of construction, in which all perspectives and opinions are heard and respected,” stressed Ambassador José Carlos da Fonseca Jr.