The reconstruction of [41,500 acres of] the Atlantic Forest, one of the world's most diverse and endangered wooded areas, was under way. The restoration project has been made possible by an unusual collaboration between Brazilian ecologists and U.S. multinational corporations [General Motors and American Electric Power]. They [the multinationals] hope to one day recoup their investment from institutions that will pay big companies, through the much-vaunted carbon sequestration market, to keep the atmosphere clean.