Impact ecosystem leaders met to discuss socioeconomic solutions to keep the Amazon Rainforest standing 

The First Amazon Dialogues Workshop for COP30 – organized by the Amazon Working Group of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) – took place on May 14, based on the theme of “Businesses that sustain people and forests.” The online meeting brought together prominent leaders in the impact ecosystem to encourage debate about sustainable development, the bioeconomy and local leadership in tackling the challenges and opportunities posed by the upcoming COP30 summit in Belém. 

The event featured Márcia Soares, Fundo Vale’s Amazon and partnerships manager; Paulo Reis, president of the Amazon Socio-Bioeconomy Business Association (ASSOBIO); Maíra Castro, CEO of Invest Amazônia; and Juliana Telles, co-founder of the Manaus Impact Hub. 

Private social investment and innovation 

Márcia Soares presented Fundo Vale’s portfolio, emphasizing the organization’s 15 years of investing in the bioeconomy, production chains, habitat restoration through sustainable systems, innovation and local capacity building. “We understand that the bioeconomy is a way to diversify sustainable local economic alternatives, strengthen people and communities, and create a positive legacy,” she said. 

She also shared examples of collaborative projects and organizations supported by Fundo Vale, including SustentaBio, the Amazon Impact Accelerator (AMAZ), Conexsus, the Living Amazon mechanism, the Living Forest program, the Amazon Journey, the Pará State Bioeconomy Plan and the creation of the Pará Innovation and Bioeconomy Park. “We test different ways of supporting businesses at different stages of entrepreneurship. What matters is what stays in the region in the long term,” she said.  

Soares said that to boost the bioeconomy, certain strategic levers are required: science and technology, innovation, appropriate capital, enabling markets and services, and tax regulation and incentives.  

Amazon network 

Paulo Reis, president of ASSOBIO, an association supported by Fundo Vale, emphasized that the way forward for the Amazon must involve strengthening local businesses and generating a regular income for local people. 

“First of all, by generating income, we ensure that people are aligned with a production model based on preserved forests and that this model really contributes to conservation,” Reis said. In his view, investing in small- and medium-sized companies expands the diversity of production chains and adds resilience to the local economy, while requiring policies to train and retain regional talent. “The forest has always underpinned the quality of life of the people who live in the region,” he added. 

Trust, listening and leading from the front 

Maíra Castro of Invest Amazônia shared the perspective of someone who was born and has started businesses in the Amazon. She pointed out that the most lasting solutions come from the inside out. “The main currency in the Amazon isn’t money; it’s trust. The second currency is also trust. We are welcoming, but also suspicious for historical reasons,” she said, noting that the biggest challenge is not attracting resources, but ensuring that they arrive smoothly and with respect for local contexts, customs and realities. She added that “we don’t need projects for the Amazon; we need projects made with the Amazon.” 

Ecosystem, diversity and human capital 

Juliana Telles, co-founder of the Manaus Impact Hub, emphasized that the Amazon is multifaceted and lacking in long-term initiatives aligned with the different stages and contexts of each location. “In the end, what remains is the people. How do we develop human capital so that knowledge and legacies remain after the wave of investment has passed?” she said. Telles highlighted her work to encourage entrepreneurship, especially among women, and to unlock capital for impact businesses in strategic municipalities. “Understanding how each organization can contribute within its field of activity is the real engine of development,” she said. 

About the Amazon Working Group 

CEBDS’ Amazon Working Group is dedicated to promoting the engagement of companies in strategic issues for the sustainable development of the Amazon. Its mission is to coordinate with the business sector, foster protagonism and propose positive agreements that reconcile production, environmental preservation and social inclusion, with a view to keeping the forest intact. Acting as a forum for high-quality debate, knowledge building, community engagement and the promotion of innovative solutions, the Amazon Working Group seeks to bring together different players and stimulate concrete initiatives to strengthen the bioeconomy and sustainable development in the region.