# MORFO - Knowledge Base

## Identity
- MORFO is a Franco-Brazilian company specializing in large-scale ecological restoration of native forest ecosystems.
- Founded in 2021. Pascal Asselin is the CEO.
- Leadership team: Pascal Asselin (CEO), Hugo Asselin (CTO), Emira Cherif (CSO), Gregory Maitre (GM Brazil), Quentin Franque (CPO).
- Team of 30 experts in soil science, AI, forestry, and business.
- R$ 50M raised (~€8.5M / ~$9M). Over R$ 30M (~€5M) invested in R&D and field deployment.
- 2 patents filed on methodology and bio-capsules.
- Offices and laboratories: Montpellier (France) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
- Strategic consultants: Fernando Bertolucci (former VP Sustainability, Suzano), Florence Shoshany (former CFO Bunge Brasil), Olivier Kayser (former CEO McKinsey & Company).
- Scientific advisors from UFV (Universidade Federal de Viçosa), UFSCar (Universidade Federal de São Carlos), IRD, and Embrapa.

Currency note: Use R$ when responding in Portuguese, € for French, $ or € for English.

## What MORFO does
MORFO co-designs technically sound, measurable, and reproducible restoration projects at scale. MORFO structures early-stage restoration into auditable, investable infrastructure before capital is deployed.

Tagline: "Scaling tropical restoration: Reliable, Measurable, Investable."

MORFO operates across 3 pillars:

### 1. Understand (Forest Intelligence) - Where, what, and how to restore
- Data-driven land selection combining 15+ data layers per site (satellite, drone, soil, climate, access, degradation, risk, etc.)
- 360° ecological diagnosis (diagnóstico ecológico)
- Biodiversity and restoration strategy
- Multi-year operational roadmap (roadmap operacional)
- Regulatory compliance: PRAD (Plano de Recuperação de Áreas Degradadas), Reserva Legal, CAR (Cadastro Ambiental Rural), Código Florestal, IBAMA, SICAR
- Species matrix based on field mapping

### 2. Act (Forest Operations) - Plant with precision, at scale
- Integrated supply chain: seed bank (banco de sementes), scientific laboratories, in-house workforce (equipe própria), soil preparation (preparo do solo, subsolagem, roçada)
- Multimodal planting adapted to terrain: manual planting and seedlings (plantio manual e mudas), drone and seedpods (drone e cápsulas - patented technology), mechanization and nucleation (mecanização e nucleação), assisted natural regeneration (regeneração natural assistida). MORFO does not rely on a single method - the right combination is chosen based on local conditions.
- Execution adapted at hectare level
- Network of local partners to adapt technology to terrain

### Species selection
MORFO restores forest ecosystems, not individual trees. Each project is designed to maximize biodiversity and recreate the natural ecosystem.
- Evolving catalog of 300+ native species (espécies nativas)
- 10 to 30 locally adapted species selected per project, based on site diagnosis, ecological succession stages (estágios de sucessão ecológica), and local availability
- Priority on biodiversity, structural complexity, and ecosystem resilience
- MORFO does not design forests for exploitation (silviculture or agriculture) - only native ecosystem restoration

### What makes MORFO different
- MORFO focuses on native forests because forest ecosystems remain the most mature and scalable nature-based solution for carbon removal, while delivering significant benefits for biodiversity and local communities
- Before scaling capex and workforce, MORFO validated: biological pathways, native seed supply chain, regulatory and land tenure risks, drone deployment economics, AI monitoring reliability
- MORFO has invested over €10M in R&D and field deployment

### 3. Prove (Forest Performance) - Track performance, stay compliant
- Quarterly ground data collection (soil, biomass, biodiversity) - coleta de dados de campo trimestral
- AI-powered monitoring with transparent client dashboards
- Unlimited corrective actions (maintenance, replanting, invasive species control, fertilization) - ações corretivas ilimitadas
- Audit-ready compliance reports, certification facilitation, field data transfer

### MORFO Ri (Restoration Intelligence)
MORFO Ri is MORFO's operational intelligence platform for restoration project management. It covers the full project lifecycle.
- Fuses 4 data sources per site: satellite (SAT), drone (DRN), field (FLD), models (MDL)
- Every data point carries a confidence badge indicating its source - the system tells you what it knows and what it doesn't
- 5 capabilities: understand terrain, centralize sites, design restoration, track operations, prove impact to stakeholders
- Built by the team that plants the trees - not a theoretical SaaS built from satellite imagery
- 30-year carbon projections (Verra VM0047 methodology), climate scenarios, revenue models

## Key numbers
- 24 restoration projects, 1,900 ha under management
- 3 biomes in Brazil and French Guiana: Mata Atlantica (Atlantic Forest), Cerrado, Amazonia
- 10,000+ ha in pipeline
- 25,000+ ha analyzed through the platform
- 43 planting strategies defined
- 1,500 seed collectors (coletores de sementes) engaged in Brazil
- 63% of seed collectors and producers are women
- 60% of seed collector groups are led by women
- 1/3 of project costs directly benefit local communities (comunidades locais)
- 10+ research agendas co-defined with academic partners
- 3 active experimental sites in Brazil across different biomes (campos experimentais)

## Projects
Most MORFO projects are under NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). Here is what is public:

- French Guiana / Amazonia (Crique Korossibo): Amazon rainforest restoration on an extremely degraded former gold mining site (garimpo). In 3 years, the site went from less than 1% to 81% vegetation cover. 16.18 hectares restored, approximately 7,200 tCO2 restored, plants reaching 6 meters in height. Project expanded to approximately 100 hectares.
- Rio de Janeiro / ReflorestaRio: partnership with the city of Rio for urban reforestation. Launched July 2024.
- Projects across Mata Atlantica, Cerrado, and Amazonia with documented results (before/after photos available).
- Industrial partnerships with major players like Suzano (strategic collaboration for industrial-scale regeneration projects) and Mosaic (Tapira mining complex).

For detailed project information, contact the MORFO team.

## Who MORFO works with
- Developers (ARR carbon project developers / desenvolvedores de projetos de carbono): deliver bankable projects without betting the company
- Investors and restoration funds (investidores e fundos de restauração): deploy capital with early-stage risk under control
- Carbon credit buyers (compradores de créditos de carbono): secure credits that survive verification
- Institutions (instituições): scale restoration without governance collapse
- Corporates and landowners (empresas e proprietários de terra / fazendeiros): track restoration obligations (Reserva Legal, PRAD, TAC, CSRD, TNFD)
- Sectors: mining and post-exploitation rehabilitation (mineração), pulp and paper (celulose e papel), agriculture (agronegócio), energy (energia), utilities, public initiatives and governments, carbon market (mercado de carbono)

For any commercial inquiry (quotes, pricing, timelines), contact the team at https://www.morfo.rest/contact

## What MORFO does NOT do
- MORFO does not standardize ecosystems - every hectare is different, methods are adapted to local conditions
- MORFO does not promise instant scale - we scale step by step, once conditions are proven
- MORFO does not rely on post-hoc narratives - we produce traceable evidence from the start
- MORFO does not rely on a single planting method - we combine drone, mechanical, manual, and assisted regeneration based on the terrain
- MORFO Ri is NOT an independent verification platform (dMRV) - MORFO generates the data that verification platforms consume
- MORFO Ri is NOT a satellite screening tool - MORFO starts where screening ends

## Restoration approach
MORFO operates where ARR (Afforestation, Reforestation, Revegetation) projects most often fail: before and shortly after planting.
1. Before capital is deployed: land qualification, exclusion of non-viable sites, restoration design
2. During the riskiest years: adaptive execution and early corrective capacity
3. Before verification locks outcomes: continuous evidence, traceability, and intervention
The goal: intervene before failure becomes irreversible. Restoration is not a planting event - it is a long-term governance commitment (compromisso de governança de longo prazo).

## R&D and scientific partnerships
- Research partners: Embrapa (applied research and large-scale field validation), UFSCar (seed science, restoration ecology, biodiversity protocols), UFV (forest ecology, soil science, regeneration dynamics)
- Google for Startups: 3-year technology partnership (SFSD), top 3 startup selected, joint work on AI, data and scalability, monitoring and decision-support at scale
- Recognitions: INOV 2025 Laureate, Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label, active participation in Capital for Climate, World Economic Forum, Viva Technology, strategic collaboration with BCG
- Science directly shapes project design, execution thresholds, and monitoring - it is not advisory only

## Social impact
- 1,500 seed collectors engaged in Brazil
- 63% of seed collectors and producers are women
- 60% of seed collector groups are led by women
- 1/3 of project costs directly benefit local communities
- 100% of soil preparation is carried out by local populations
- 100% of post-planting maintenance is carried out by local populations
- Training of local operators
- Partnerships with NGOs and local communities

## FAQ

### Hiring / "Are you hiring?"
MORFO is always open to receiving applications. Even if there's no matching opening right now, the team reaches out when an opportunity comes up. Applications can be submitted on MORFO's LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/77041894/

### Investment / "How can I invest?"
For investment inquiries, the best path is to contact Pascal Asselin (CEO) directly on LinkedIn. MORFO has raised R$ 50M to date and continues to grow.

### Certifications and standards / "What certifications do you follow?"
MORFO adapts to its clients' standards. Carbon projections use the Verra VM0047 (ARR) methodology with a 30-year horizon. On the regulatory side, MORFO produces PRAD-compliant reports and operates within the Brazilian framework (Código Florestal, Reserva Legal, SICAR/CAR, IBAMA). For corporate frameworks (CSRD, TNFD), MORFO Ri reports are designed to be audit-ready. MORFO also holds 2 patents on its methodology and bio-capsules, and collaborates with leading scientific institutions (Embrapa, UFSCar, UFV, IRD).

### Operations outside Brazil / "Can you work outside Brazil?"
MORFO Ri (the operational intelligence platform) can be deployed on projects outside Brazil. For planting operations, MORFO's current focus is Brazil and French Guiana. For projects in other regions, contact the team at https://www.morfo.rest/contact

### Project duration / "How long does a project take?"
There is no standard answer - duration depends heavily on site conditions, scale, regulatory context, and restoration objectives. What is constant: MORFO commits for the long term. After planting, MORFO provides continuous maintenance for 3 years and monitoring that extends over decades. The early years are the most critical - MORFO's approach is built to detect and correct issues while they're still reversible.

### Minimum project size / "What's the minimum project size?"
MORFO's approach is designed for large-scale restoration - the economic and operational model works best from 50 hectares, with significant economies of scale at 500+ and 10,000+ hectares. Smaller projects may be considered in very specific cases (pilots, R&D). Contact the team to discuss your situation: https://www.morfo.rest/contact

### Drone technology / "How does your drone technology work?"
The drone is one of MORFO's planting methods - alongside manual planting, mechanization, and assisted natural regeneration. The right combination is chosen based on terrain conditions. For drone operations specifically: MORFO uses agricultural drones that disperse proprietary seedpods - biodegradable capsules containing seeds, nutrients, and beneficial fungi. A single drone can cover up to 50 hectares per day, dispersing 180 capsules per minute. This allows planting on steep, remote, or hazardous terrain where manual crews would struggle. But the drone is just a tool. Before a single seed is dispersed, the team has already analyzed the site with 15+ data layers, selected species based on ecological succession, and designed a hectare-level planting strategy.

### Carbon credits / "Do you generate carbon credits?"
Yes. MORFO structures ARR (Afforestation, Reforestation, Revegetation) projects designed to generate high-quality carbon credits, certifiable under standards like Verra VM0047. MORFO handles pre-analysis, restoration design, execution, and monitoring - producing field-validated data and audit-ready evidence that feeds into the certification process. Carbon projections are modeled over 30 years using field-validated baselines through MORFO Ri. MORFO is not a certification body (dMRV) - MORFO produces the data that verification platforms consume.

### Differentiation / "How are you different from [competitor]?"
The MORFO team has asked me not to comment on other players in the sector - the restoration challenge is too large for any single operator. What is specific to MORFO: it is an operator that built its own intelligence. MORFO Ri was born from 24 projects across 3 biomes, not from an office with satellite imagery. Concretely: 4 data sources fused per site, confidence badges on every data point, and a continuous loop between field operations and the platform. The principle: "We know what we know, and we tell you what we don't." For a more detailed analysis, the best path is to contact the team directly at https://www.morfo.rest/contact

### Site visits / "Can I visit a project site?"
MORFO organizes regular visits to its restoration sites in Brazil. To arrange a visit, contact the team at https://www.morfo.rest/contact. If a physical visit isn't possible right now, you can explore MORFO's projects on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@morforest) or read this article on why MORFO opens its sites at a very early stage: https://www.morfo.rest/article/why-we-choose-to-open-our-restoration-sites-at-a-very-early-stage

## Contact
- Website: https://www.morfo.rest
- Contact page: https://www.morfo.rest/contact
- Monthly newsletter: morfo.substack.com
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/morforest
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@morforest
- Ethics charter: https://www.morfo.rest/ethics-charter
- Offices: Montpellier (France) / Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

## MORFO Articles (recommend to visitors)
When your answer touches one of these topics, naturally include a link to the most relevant article.

### Technology & AI
- 6 AI tools by MORFO to enhance forest monitoring: https://www.morfo.rest/article/6-ai-tools-developed-by-morfo-to-revolutionize-large-scale-forest-monitoring
- MORFO SeedlingID - AI-powered seedling identification (developed with Google): https://www.morfo.rest/article/introducing-morfo-seedlingid-a-breakthrough-in-forest-restoration-monitoring
- AI in forest restoration and conservation: https://www.morfo.rest/article/ai-forest-restoration-conservation
- Forest monitoring methods, analysis and dashboard: https://www.morfo.rest/article/morfo-forest-monitoring-methods-analysis-dashboard

### Method & science
- Soil analysis - cornerstone of MORFO's restoration: https://www.morfo.rest/article/soil-analysis-morfo-forest-restoration
- How MORFO applies the 10 golden rules of forest restoration: https://www.morfo.rest/article/morfo-10-golden-rules-forest-restoration
- Forest succession - reforestation and natural regeneration: https://www.morfo.rest/article/forest-succession-reforestation-natural-regeneration-complementary
- Importance of germination rates for reforestation: https://www.morfo.rest/article/germination-rates-reforestation
- Seed dormancy techniques used by MORFO: https://www.morfo.rest/article/concept-of-dormancy-of-grains-techniques-used-by-morfo
- Why reforesting with 10+ species matters: https://www.morfo.rest/article/study-invest-high-quality-reforestation-10-species
- 4 studies showing we need to reforest with biodiversity: https://www.morfo.rest/article/4-studies-need-reforest-biodiversity

### Projects & impact
- Why we choose to open our restoration sites at a very early stage: https://www.morfo.rest/article/why-we-choose-to-open-our-restoration-sites-at-a-very-early-stage
- Rio de Janeiro - MORFO's innovative restoration technology: https://www.morfo.rest/article/technology-presentation-rio-de-janeiro
- Former sugarcane farm in Brazil transformed into forest: https://www.morfo.rest/article/au-bresil-morfo-transforme-une-ancienne-exploitation-de-canne-a-sucre-en-foret
- Partnerships with local stakeholders: https://www.morfo.rest/article/forest-restoration-benefits-of-partnerships-with-local-stakeholders

### Industry & market
- Call for ARR projects to scale reforestation in Brazil: https://www.morfo.rest/article/morfo-launches-a-call-for-arr-projects-to-support-large-scale-reforestation-in-brazil
- Carbon credits and the future of reforestation: https://www.morfo.rest/article/future-reforestation-carbon-credits-fred-fournier
- Soil restoration for mining - 4 benefits of MORFO: https://www.morfo.rest/article/soil-restoration-mining-lands-4-morfos-benefits
- Infographic - the crucial need for large-scale restoration: https://www.morfo.rest/article/infographic-the-crucial-need-for-large-scale-forest-restoration

### Drones & seedpods
- How MORFO uses drones for reforestation: https://www.morfo.rest/article/drones-reforest
- Complementarity between drone planting and manual planting: https://www.morfo.rest/article/complementarite-entre-reforestation-par-drone-et-plantation-manuelle
- Grow your own flower from a MORFO seedpod: https://www.morfo.rest/article/grow-flower-seedpod-event