How to Restore Degraded Cattle Ranching Land with Assisted Natural Regeneration
In Colombia’s Antioquia region, NatureRe is proving that large-scale forest restoration doesn’t have to rely on expensive planting or heavy-handed intervention. Their method centers on Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR), a low-intervention, high-impact approach that supports ecosystems in healing themselves.
In a recent NTC Now session, Olivia Gumbel, Marketing & Communications Manager at NatureRe, joined us to share the story behind their 700-hectare pilot in Antioquia. This former cattle ranch now serves as a blueprint for scaling ANR across Colombia and beyond. Olivia explained how the approach is driving measurable gains in carbon, biodiversity, and livelihoods, while supporting a financially viable restoration model.
What is assisted natural regeneration (ANR)?
Assisted Natural Regeneration is a forest restoration technique that supports the natural recovery of ecosystems by protecting and enhancing existing vegetation. Rather than relying on labor-intensive tree planting, ANR focuses on helping nature do what it already does best, i.e. regenerate.
The method includes low-impact interventions such as removing grazing pressures, managing fire and invasive species, and creating favorable microclimates. These steps allow dormant seeds, remaining roots, and naturally dispersed seeds to regenerate native vegetation. Different restoration strategies are implemented depending on the severity of the land degradation, and some more active techniques are used in areas with the highest degradation, including enrichment planting and nucleation.
Introducing NatureRe and the Antioquia Pilot
NatureRe was founded to address the gap between scalable ecological restoration and credible nature-based finance. Today, NatureRe aims to manage more than €1 billion in restoration assets by 2030, with measurable targets for carbon sequestration and biodiversity uplift.
A pilot project in Chocó, Colombia was initiated in 2014, predating the formal establishment of the company and serving as a live testing ground for what would later become NatureRe’s defining methodology. This pilot project, experimenting with low intervention reforestation, evolved into a blueprint. NatureRe’s founders, drawing from backgrounds in conservation, finance, and local community work, recognized the need to create investable projects rooted in ecological integrity.
This gave way to NatureRe’s first carbon project, started in 2022, in Antioquia. Today, the Antioquia site has become a reference point for developing a broader strategy to scale up ANR projects across Colombia and eventually Latin America.
Why choose assisted natural regeneration (ANR) for a tropical climate?
ANR is at the core of NatureRe’s restoration strategy. Unlike traditional reforestation, which often requires intensive planting and infrastructure, ANR leverages the natural, regenerative potential of local ecosystems. The method is grounded in ecological research showing that tropical forests in particular, especially in biodiverse regions like Colombia, have a remarkable capacity to rebound if given the chance.
NatureRe’s ANR approach focuses on removing obstacles to natural forest regrowth, like keeping out cattle, controlling invasive species, and limiting human impact. They also use targeted techniques such as helping seed spread from existing trees, improving growing conditions, and only planting new trees when natural vegetation isn’t enough.
ANR Techniques
For Antioquia, this approach makes sense not just ecologically, but economically too. ANR costs much less per hectare than planting entire forests from scratch, which makes it ideal for restoring large areas. It also leads to more resilient ecosystems over time, since the forest grows back with native species that are already well adapted to local conditions. Unlike traditional planting, ANR also avoids the risks of monocultures or species that don’t thrive in the environment.
How did NatureRe select the restoration sites?
Site selection is one of the most critical aspects of NatureRe’s methodology. Each potential project undergoes a 17-variable assessment that incorporates legal, ecological, and social filters. Ecologically, they look for land with strong recovery potential, degraded but not irreversibly damaged, with nearby forest fragments to assist with seed dispersal.
Legally, the land must have clear ownership and be allowed to be used for conservation under national laws. In Colombia, NatureRe uses the Resnatur registry to formalize plots as private natural reserves, locking in long-term conservation status: This gives investors confidence in project permanence and shields sites from future land-use pressures.
Social criteria are also important: NatureRe looks for land where the owners are willing to sell, there are no disputes over who controls the land, and nearby communities could benefit from new job opportunities. For the Antioquia project, they spent two years talking with landowners, local governments, and environmental groups. Eventually, they bought two neighboring cattle ranches and combined them into one large site for restoration.
NatureRe is now applying this model to other regions, particularly Brazil. While the principles of ANR remain consistent, the application does vary by biome, land tenure complexity, and policy landscape. In Brazil, the team is having to navigate more fragmented landholding patterns and distinct legal frameworks for conservation finance.
How is the restoration progress monitored and verified?
NatureRe employs a hybrid monitoring approach that blends technology with field-based science. High-resolution satellite and drone imagery track changes in canopy cover and forest density over time. These remote data streams are supplemented by on-the-ground assessments, including vegetation plots, soil sampling, and wildlife monitoring using camera traps.
Their team works closely with regional universities and technical partners to establish ecological baselines and monitor progress. For carbon accounting, NatureRe is now switching to Verra’s new VM0047 method, which is designed specifically for projects like theirs. It gives a more accurate picture of how much carbon is captured through natural regrowth and also accounts for emissions avoided by preventing deforestation.
One of the most impressive results from NatureRe’s project so far is that plant diversity has increased by 18%, showing that the forest is recovering. They’ve also seen native and endangered animals returning to the area, including species like ocelots, evidence that the habitat is becoming healthy and functional again.
The shift to VM0047, in line with the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM)’s Core Carbon Principles, also means that NatureRe can match its ecological practices with credible carbon outcomes, and providing buyers of carbon credits with confidence that they are investing in high-impact, high-integrity projects.
How does NatureRe engage and empower local communities?
NatureRe’s social approach is encapsulated in their HEART strategy: Health, Economic empowerment, Ambition, Representation, and Transparency. From the outset, community members are involved in land assessments, baseline surveys, and project planning.
Former cattle ranchers are also employed as forest rangers, trained in restoration maintenance and monitoring. Rangers’ wives have also been hired, and all employees receive above living wage.
Beyond employment, NatureRe has co-developed value-sharing agreements that reinvest a portion of project revenue into community infrastructure and social services. They also conduct regular listening sessions and participatory planning workshops; their partnership with Kinomé, a social enterprise specializing in forest-based livelihoods, supports this inclusive engagement model.
Some of NatureRe’s carbon offtake agreements now include explicit premiums for social co-benefits. As voluntary markets mature, NatureRe expects the demand for high-integrity, co-benefit-rich credits will grow, appealing to buyers who want to measure social outcomes alongside carbon removal goals.
How NatureRe’s financial model makes restoration scalable and investable
NatureRe combines strong ecological science with smart financial planning. Their funding model separates early costs from long-term income. First, they raise money from mission-driven investors to buy land, assess its condition, and start the restoration process.
Once restoration is underway, they line up future buyers for the carbon credits the project will generate. These advance purchase agreements, known as offtake agreements, help guarantee a steady stream of income. This reliable funding reduces project risk and makes it more attractive to investors, who benefit from high returns.
Today, carbon credits function as the main revenue source but NatureRe is also exploring other income opportunities like ecotourism, selling native seeds, and sustainable forest products, with all profits staying in the local community.
Conclusion: A replicable model for nature-positive restoration
To date, NatureRe has mapped more than 10 million hectares in Colombia and 60 million in Brazil with high potential for Assisted Natural Regeneration. They are currently securing new project sites and building partnerships with local NGOs, research institutions, and state governments to scale operations. NatureRe is committed to maintaining rigor in every project. This means robust DMRV systems, continuous community engagement, and adherence to evolving standards like Verra’s VM0047. They are also piloting landscape-level planning tools to ensure projects contribute to regional ecological corridors.
Their model shows that with the right tools, strategies, and stakeholder alignment, restoration can deliver climate impact, community resilience, and investor confidence, all while letting nature lead the way!
