Local communities, scientific research, and innovation work together to demonstrate that forest conservation can become a driver of sustainable development.

“Bioeconomy shows that a living forest can generate more value than its destruction.”

In the Amazon, the forest is not only an extraordinary ecosystem: it is also the foundation of a possible economy. An economy that does not destroy nature but, on the contrary, depends on its conservation.

This is the idea behind the Amazonian bioeconomy, a development model based on the sustainable use of biodiversity — that is, the forest’s natural resources — to generate income, social well-being, and environmental protection.

Fruits, seeds, vegetable oils, natural fibers, active compounds, and traditional knowledge thus become the basis of production chains that bring together local knowledge, scientific research, and technological innovation. In this way, the forest is not cut down but becomes the heart of an economic system that keeps ecosystems standing and strengthens the communities that inhabit them.

Indigenous peoples and traditional communities play a fundamental role in this process: they safeguard valuable knowledge about biodiversity management and the use of natural resources. The Amazonian bioeconomy is born precisely from the meeting between this knowledge and the new opportunities offered by science and technology.

A bioeconomy laboratory in the forest

In this context, together with its partner Amazon Charitable Trust, Amazônia coordinates the Bioeconomy Thematic Chamber within the Deliberative Council of the Jauaperi Reserve, a protected area where nature conservation is intertwined with the traditional activities of local communities.

The Thematic Chamber is a space for dialogue and planning that brings together civil society organizations, public institutions, universities, and representatives of the reserve’s communities. Currently, five organizations and eight local communities take part, including Bela Vista, São Pedro, Dona Cota, Floresta, Palestina, Itaquera, Tanauaú, and Xixuaú.

The goal is to strengthen the sustainable use of non-timber forest resources and sociobiodiversity value chains, creating economic opportunities that allow communities to live from the forest without destroying it.

Throughout 2025, Amazônia and Amazon Charitable Trust organized several meetings with institutions, governments, companies, and research centers to build a collaborative network and define shared strategies. Among the identified priorities are strengthening technical assistance for communities, promoting new research — for example on payments for environmental services — and improving market access for forest products.

Forest-based economies

From Brazil nut harvesting to essential oil extraction, from wildlife protection to ecotourism and scientific research: the activities linked to the Amazonian bioeconomy are diverse but share a fundamental element — the direct involvement of forest communities.

Through dialogue with local producers, institutions, and businesses, Amazônia works to strengthen these value chains and create new opportunities for younger generations. Planned initiatives include promoting youth entrepreneurship and creating collective transport systems to facilitate access of local products to regional markets.

Cultivating the future

Alongside its work in the park, Amazônia also supports projects dedicated to rural development and food security in other regions of the Amazon.

On November 6, 2025, in the community of Vila São Jorge, in the municipality of Cidelândia, in the state of Maranhão, the Casa de Farinha São Raimundo was inaugurated, a new community agro-industry dedicated to cassava processing. This food is one of the pillars of diet and food security for millions of people in Amazonian rural communities.

The project also promotes sustainable agricultural systems, the restoration of degraded areas, and the strengthening of local value chains. Among the ongoing activities is technical assistance for a community forest nursery to obtain registration in RENASEM (National Register of Seeds and Seedlings), a key step to ensure quality, traceability, and access to new markets for locally produced seeds and seedlings.

The initiative is part of the project “Together we plant the future,” which Amazônia has been carrying out since 2023 across the states of Pará and Maranhão, in partnership with the Brazilian Institute for Development and Sustainability (IABS) and in collaboration with local organizations.

The new Xixuaú primary school is ready to welcome the upcoming school year, which is about to begin in Brazil.

Twice the size of the previous building, the Teodorico Nascimento School, named after the founder of the village, was designed to meet the needs of a growing community. The school includes two classrooms—one for preschool children and one for students from first to fifth grade—a library, a spacious kitchen with a dining area, restrooms, storage rooms, and access to filtered water, making it a true point of reference for children and families.

Fully powered by solar energy, the school was built through the collective efforts of the community and the operational work of CoopXixuaú, in collaboration with ICMBio, the Municipality of Rorainópolis, and our partner Amazon Charitable Trust.

This is a concrete step toward strengthening education in Jauaperi Reserve, supporting families in remaining in their territory, valuing traditional ways of life, and protecting the forest.

With thanks to Riccio Giramondo, Fondazione Adiuvare, Trentino Insieme (Rothooblass), 3B Meteo, Elettra srl, Fondazione Quarta de Matteis, Margherita Pantano, and the Associazione dei Carabinieri di Lanuvio.

Click to learn more about our education projects.

More than 50,000 people gathered for ten days in Belém, the capital of the state of Pará, at the gateway to the Amazon. 

One of the most significant features of COP30 was the unprecedented participation of civil society and Indigenous and traditional peoples. Thousands of people from Pan-Amazonia and other regions of the world took part in the negotiations, side events, and mobilizations. Among them was Emanuela Evangelista, biologist and president of Amazônia ETS, who attended together with a group of representatives from the Jauaperi national park. 

“This was the highest level of inclusion of Indigenous and community representatives in the history of the COPs,” Evangelista emphasized. “They brought visions and solutions based on nature and ancestral knowledge, showing that there are different ways of inhabiting the planet.” 

Peaceful demonstrations, marches, and parallel summits had a tangible impact: among the outcomes was the protection of new Indigenous territories. The Belém COP demonstrated that when forest peoples’ voices are given space, they can make a difference.

Amazônia in the Blue Zone: 25 years of field experience 

Within this context, Amazônia ETS actively participated in COP30. The organization spoke at two official events in the Blue Zone. The first, on November 10 at the Italy Pavilion, titled “Amazonia: strategies and best practices to avoid collapse a 25-year experience,” offered a dialogue between Europe and Brazil on concrete solutions for forest conservation. Alongside Evangelista, speakers included Jonas da Rosa Gonçalves of the Amazon Charitable Trust and Alda Brazão, an Indigenous leader from the Baniwa people and representative of the community cooperative CoopXixuaú. 

The second event, on November 17, was the international side event “An insider’s blueprint: a lifetime of proven climate actions on the ground,” co-organized with the Amazon Charitable Trust. The meeting explored the role of scientific and community collaborations in strengthening local capacity and promoting a just transition rooted in traditional knowledge. 

“Climate justice and ecological justice today urgently demand the defense of forests,” Evangelista stated. “Avoiding the point of no return in the Amazon means zero deforestation and reforestation. In both cases, forest peoples know how to do it. It is up to us to listen to them.”

Results and limits of COP30 

From a negotiation standpoint, COP30 did not deliver a shared global roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, but it did mark some progress. An agreement was reached to triple climate adaptation funds by 2035, and, above all, the most comprehensive global mapping to date emerged of countries willing to move away definitively from fossil fuels. 

“A roadmap to accelerate the transition is now necessary and inevitable,” Evangelista explained. “We would have liked a more ambitious outcome, but the processes that have been launched will continue to shape the international debate in the coming months.” 

On deforestation, serious critical issues remain. The final document acknowledges the urgency of halting and reversing forest loss by 2030, but without defining a global action plan. Meanwhile, the Amazon continues to lose billions of trees every year and to suffer increasingly frequent extreme climate events.

A collective process, a global mutirão 

The final text of COP30 was titled Global Mutirão, evoking a deeply Amazonian concept: the collective action required when an individual cannot succeed alone. It is a powerful metaphor for the climate challenge. 

“Global climate action is a collective movement,” Evangelista concluded. “It advances even in the absence of a few denialist actors; it grows in the streets and in negotiations, in science and in ancestral knowledge. And, like a mutirão, it requires everyone to row in the same direction.” 

COP30 in Belém was a milestone, not a conclusion. But bringing the world into the heart of the Amazon made one truth increasingly impossible to ignore: without the forest and without those who inhabit it, there is no credible solution to the climate crisis. 

On the margins of the Brazilian Amazon, the state of Maranhão is a crucial transition territory, where development pressures make environmental and social balances particularly fragile.

On November 6, 2025, the São Raimundo Casa de Farinha was inaugurated in the community of Vila São Jorge, in Cidelândia, Maranhão. This new community-based agro-industry is dedicated to processing cassava, a staple food for millions of people and a cornerstone of food security in Amazonian rural communities. 

The initiative is a new milestone of the project “Together We Plant the Future”, which we have been carrying out since 2023 in partnership with the Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento e Sustentabilidade (IABS) and in collaboration with local organizations. 

The facility was created to generate income, strengthen the cassava value chain and improve working conditions for family farmers. It is collectively managed by the Associação dos Pequenos Produtores Rurais do Projeto de Assentamento São Jorge (ASPRAJORGE) and represents a concrete step toward more equitable and sustainable territorial development. 

Equipped with modern machinery, water reuse systems, waste treatment solutions and features designed to improve thermal comfort, the Casa de Farinha can produce up to one ton of flour per day, with an estimated annual output of around 260 tons. In doing so, it enhances traditional knowledge deeply rooted in the territory. 

Promoting the leadership of local communities through sustainable solutions that generate income and strengthen the bioeconomy is a core pillar of the “Together We Plant the Future” project. The Casa de Farinha stands as a tangible symbol of territorial development, capable of transforming traditional knowledge into a collective enterprise with positive social and environmental impact. “The strengthening of institutional capacity is reflected in the ongoing training processes that have enabled the Agrovila São Jorge Association to manage the enterprise effectively. The collective management model — with a Management Committee and a Technical Committee — ensures democratic decision-making and actively engages the community in the day-to-day operation of the business,” says Carolina Sales, the project’s Operational Coordinator.

The local community also highlights the immediate benefits. “Now we can produce more, with less effort and under much better conditions,” says Reginaldo Marques de Sousa, a producer and long-standing reference for flour production in the area. The project improves not only efficiency, but also the quality of life of the families involved. 

The São Raimundo Casa de Farinha is part of a broader project strategy active in nine municipalities across Maranhão and Pará, with the support of Sofidel and Suzano. By connecting fragmented and isolated forest áreas, the initiative will help create a major biodiversity corridor, promoting ecological connectivity across 2,210 square kilometers of rainforest. 

A project that shows how local development, environmental protection and social justice can move forward together—starting from communities and from the value of the land they inhabit. 

Watch the inauguration video (in Portuguese).