Promoting bioeconomy for forest protection in Brazil

Context

In Brazil, deforestation for agriculture is a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions and disrupts the livelihoods of indigenous and traditional communities living in forests. These groups, along with much of the rural population in the Brazilian Amazon, rely on forest products, fishing, and traditional agriculture for income. While Brazil promotes a ‘sociobioeconomy’ to encourage responsible resource use and support value chain development that respect cultural and biological diversity, existing policies and initiatives of the private industry often fail to address the specific needs of these groups. Expanding access to tailored policies, initiatives and partnerships can help supporting the groups by generating local income, thereby contributing to preserving the remaining natural forests in the Amazon region.

Objective

Indigenous and traditional communities in the Amazon have improved their ability to implement strategies for a just and inclusive bioeconomy.

Approach

The project collaborates with national, regional, and thematic partners in the following areas:

• Supporting policies, instruments, and strategies that encourage the development of a sociobioeconomy;
• Working with public institutions, administrative authorities, educational facilities, enterprises, and cooperatives of indigenous and traditional communities to enhance professional skills and improve organisational knowledge for gender-sensitive application of these strategies;
• Collaborating with local actors in the states of Pará, Amazonas, and Acre to implement context-specific sociobioeconomy strategies, using a territorial approach.

Last update: February 2025