- The Amazon rainforest, crucial for global climate stability, faces threats from activities like cattle ranching, farming, and illegal operations, risking an irreversible transformation from rainforest to savannah.
- The bioeconomy, leveraging biological resources for sustainable growth, holds significant potential for the Amazon but remains underdeveloped due to challenges like weak human capital and diverse interpretations hindering a coherent strategy, argue Katherine Aguirre, Robert Muggah and Peter Smith of the Igarapé Institute.
- The authors point to a recent study that highlights the need for tailored strategies to support the bioeconomy in the Amazon, emphasizing sustainable practices, traditional knowledge, and collaboration across sectors to create effective policies and investments.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.
Relentless climate change and biodiversity loss are pushing the world’s ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The planet may have already surpassed at least six of nine planetary boundaries crucial for maintaining a safe operating environment for humanity. The only way to slow and eventually reverse course is by eliminating carbon emissions, transitioning to clean energy, and protecting and restoring nature. This means shifting the prevailing economic paradigm so that forests are more valuable standing than cleared. One way to do this is by fostering new economic and productive models in the world’s most important biomes.
The Amazon rainforest is widely regarded as one of several key bulwarks against global warming and the transition to a low-carbon future. Yet the Amazon and its extraordinary biodiversity are under threat from extensive cattle ranching, large-scale farming, unsustainable mining, and an ecosystem of illegal activities. Spanning over 8 million km², the Amazon is approaching an irreversible tipping point that could turn rainforest into savannah. Protecting and conserving the world’s largest tropical forest is essential. A paradigm shift is required, one that accelerates and scales high-integrity green enterprises and nature-based solutions, including a bioeconomy.
While easier to describe than define, the bioeconomy involves using biological resources and processes to create sustainable growth. Despite its potential, the bioeconomy has yet to reach the necessary scale to generate regional, much less global, impact. Even so, the eight countries of the Amazon are well-positioned to contribute significantly to a global bioeconomy market that could reach US$7.7 trillion by 2030. Today, however, they receive only a modest fraction of its potential value. Reasons for this include the limited pipeline of projects, weak human capital, pervasive territorial risks, and infrastructural deficits. Another challenge is that diverse interpretations of the bioeconomy undermine efforts to craft a coherent strategy and attract investment.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Igarapé Institute launched a regional study, “Re-imagining bioeconomy for Amazonia”, to better understand and reinforce the Amazon’s bioeconomy potential. The research team interviewed more than 1,000 decision-makers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors from across the region to understand how the bioeconomy is conceived and operationalized across the Amazon. A goal was to develop better conceptual clarity and alignment about core principles and concepts, not least to accelerate investment and support sustainable development tailored to local needs for the region’s nearly 50 million inhabitants.
Not surprisingly, the assessment revealed diverse interpretations of the bioeconomy both within and outside Amazon countries. In North America and Western Europe, for example, practitioners and investors emphasize “biotechnology” and “biofuels” as catalysts for economic growth, innovation, and sustainability. Within the Amazon region, by contrast, approaches are typically more focused on aligning environmental sustainability with social equity, highlighting the importance of traditional knowledge and community-led resource management. Yet there are also important differences of opinion between and within Amazonian countries as well as across disciplinary divides.
Rather than forcing a uniform definition, it may be more useful to understand the bioeconomy as constituted by several basic principles. These could include the sustainable use of biological resources and processes; the integration of science, technology, and innovation; the inclusion of ancestral and traditional knowledge; the enhancement of value through improved processing and supply chain efficiencies; and a commitment to environmental sustainability, decarbonization, and the provision of environmental services. From these higher-order principles, it is then possible to infer the categories of activities aligned with the bioeconomy, whether sustainable agriculture, livestock, and fishing; sustainable timber and non-timber forest products; biomaterials, biochemicals, and biocosmetics; sustainable ecotourism; and energy generation from biogas and biofuels, to name a few.
The study also exposed several differences in perspective about the bioeconomy among Amazon countries. Specifically, stakeholders in Brazil and Colombia appear to have comparatively mature bioeconomy policies and investment strategies that integrate scientific and technological advancements with the contributions of traditional communities. Respondents from Ecuador and Peru, while expressing interest in the bioeconomy agenda, often use alternative terms like “biobusiness” and “bioenterprise,” focusing on sustainable practices and biodiversity preservation. Meanwhile, individuals interviewed in Bolivia avoid the term “bioeconomy” entirely due to its association with the harmful commercialization of natural resources. In Venezuela, the focus is on so-called “bio-inputs” to promote autonomy and self-sufficiency. Guyana and Suriname are still in the early stages of developing a green economy and green growth strategies, focusing primarily on low-carbon development.
Positively, the assessment identified multiple entry points to scaling a high-integrity bioeconomy in the Amazon. These include incentives for research and entrepreneurship as well as the forging of blended financial mechanisms to catalyze, accelerate, and scale-up investment (from public-private partnerships and tax incentives to venture capital). Simplifying regulations and providing tailored financial products can help mitigate the risks inherent in pioneering bioeconomy activities. Cross-sector collaboration among government agencies, academic institutions, civil society organizations, and businesses is likewise essential to create effective policies and strategic plans. Finally, leapfrogging opportunities can be generated by leveraging cutting-edge technologies. Careful attention is needed to manage cultural and language diversity, intellectual property regulations, and ideological tensions.
Ultimately, there is not one, but many bioeconomies in the Amazon. Competing interpretations are shaped not just by government, economic, or even scientific imperatives, but also by the region’s unique geographical, ecological, and socioeconomic environments. There are profitable and sustainable opportunities to foster multiple bioeconomic models that promote economic development together with social well-being and ecological integrity. To be sure, capitalizing on the region’s bioeconomies requires navigating benefit-sharing and intellectual property rights. Success will not be determined by economic metrics alone but by growth that combines economic advancement, environmental stewardship, and social inclusivity for a sustainable and prosperous future for the people living in the Amazon.
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