The world’s future is linked to the future of the Amazon. With that in mind, the Pan-Amazon Bioeconomy Conference, which took place on June 21 and 22, brought together more than 300 leaders and specialists to debate ideas and explore viable solutions to prioritize the preservation and sustainable use of the Amazon’s resources.

The meeting was supported by more than 20 organizations involved with the region’s sustainable development and it was attended by representatives of all nine Amazonian countries, including leaders from different levels of government, indigenous peoples, academics, companies, financial companies, NGOs, local businesses, collectives and social movements. The participants included Patrícia Daros, Vale’s director of nature-based solutions; Márcia Soares, Fundo Vale’s partnerships and networks leader; and Camila Maia, Fundo Vale’s sustainability analyst. The trio took part in working groups on legal issues, supply chains, blended finance and bioeconomy network building.

Among so many subjects, indigenous businesses and the importance of financing to support a sustainable bioeconomy model stood out. According to the Pará State Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainability, “the meeting was a response to the urgent need for transformative action to address biodiversity loss, climate change and the marginalization of indigenous and traditional peoples in the Amazon.”

One of the conference’s main outcomes was the joint production of a document setting out proposals, priorities and recommendations for scaling up the bioeconomy across the Amazon. These recommendations will be submitted to the heads of state of the nine Amazonian countries during the Amazon Summit, scheduled for August 2023, with the aim of establishing a regional pact featuring strategies to prevent the Amazon biome’s degradation from going beyond an irreversible “tipping point.”