CACHOEIRAS DE MACACU, Brazil — Gesturing across the still, green water reflecting the backdrop of forest-clad mountains, Nicholas Locke told of the time when this flourishing wetland was once a barren pasture after being drained, cleared, and used for cattle grazing. “Restoration in the Atlantic Forest is fundamental because it’s already been degraded, even more so than the Amazon,” Ricardo Rodrigues, an ecologist at the University of São Paulo, told Mongabay by phone. “We want to raise awareness of why this forest is precious,” he added as a chorus of birds whooped and whistled in the background