Multicriteria approach to prioritize forest restoration areas for biodiversity conservation in the eastern Amazon

Due to the global magnitude of forest degradation and deforestation and the high cost of ecological restoration, several approaches have been used to prioritize conservation or restoration areas based on different objectives and criteria. The present work aims to develop a multicriteria approach to defining forest restoration priority areas in the Itacaitinas River basin, eastern Amazon, that maximizes the criteria equitably. The selected criteria were: improve forest connectivity, provide climatic refuges for biodiversity, mitigate the impacts of deforestation on streamflow, and improve the probability of natural regeneration. A strong difference between selected areas was observed when the criteria of forest connectivity and mitigate the impact on streamflow were considered separately, but greater equity among the criteria was achieved using the multicriteria approach. The most priority areas were concentrated near protected areas. The method used provides a flexible framework, and different criteria or subarea selections can be applied for different purposes to facilitate adaptive management. Analyzing forest restoration prioritization on rural properties can provide guidance for conserving and restoring biodiversity at the landscape scale while complying with legal requirements.