Concerned about the increasing pressure in the exploitation of Brazilian renewable resources, a group of professionals, already involved in the environmental conservation scenario in the country and highly committed to the conservation of nature and social-economic development, decided to found the Terra Brasilis Institute for Socio-environmental development.

The concern of this group was to establish a non-governmental, private, nonprofit organization, without economic, political or religious interests. The guiding principle was to promote socio-environmental development from pillars grounded on technical and scientific knowledge, with ethics, responsibility and social commitment. Thus, in 1998 Terra Brasilis came into being.

The main action lines of the Terra Brasilis Institute are: the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of natural resources, the creation and management of protected areas,