Women’s power in defending nature |
March brings together three important dates: International Women’s Day, International Day of Forests and World Water Day. Far from being disconnected agendas, they all point toward the same priorities: life, continuity and the future.
Forests and water regulate the climate, sustain economies and livelihoods, ensure supplies of goods and preserve biodiversity. In many regions, women play a fundamental role in managing the interdependence between people and nature.
Within the impact ecosystem, women’s perspectives often bring systemic vision, empathy and responsibility for the long term. This is not about romanticizing women’s leadership, but about recognizing their ability to listen to different voices, consider diverse realities, mediate interests, combine knowledge, act with resilience and build trust among stakeholders who often start from very different positions.
As a funding organization, we continue to work so that this power increasingly translates into inclusive and fair initiatives, which respect nature in all its dimensions, contribute to restoring areas with sustainable and economically viable solutions, promote the bioeconomy and thus open pathways to new development models in Brazil.
We hope you enjoy this edition!
Patrícia Daros,
Director, Fundo Vale
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Study maps how the procurement area can integrate positive social and environmental impact into purchasing decisions |
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How to restore forests on a large scale
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Think tank Instituto Escolhas develops a package of solutions to support the next Brazilian administration in meeting its goal of restoring 12 million hectares of habitat |
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Amazon at Home, Intact Forest program
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Applications are now open for the 2026 cycle, which offers free training for Amazon social and bioeconomy businesses that want to position their ventures in the digital environment and expand their market reach. |
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co-founder of the Manaus Impact Hub and Azô Capital de Impacto, and co-creator of the Amazon Impact Investing and Sustainable Business Festival (FIINSA) |
As an Amazonian woman, her mission is to strengthen impact businesses, connect people, unlock capital and open new opportunities for the region, with the goal of making it increasingly fair and safe for its people.
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Along your journey in the social and environmental impact ecosystem, at what moments did you most strongly feel the presence of women as a transformative force? How did these experiences shape the way you see power and impact in this ecosystem today?
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Throughout my journey in the social and environmental impact ecosystem, the presence of women as a transformative force has always been very evident. At the Manaus Impact Hub, this became even clearer when we adopted gender, race and place-based metrics and created intentional programs such as Despertar (Awakening), aimed at female entrepreneurs who support their families, and Teçume (Interweaving), which is building a network of female investors in the Amazon. These programs show that women’s strength is immense, but faces barriers at more advanced stages and in access to capital. For this reason, today I see power and impact as synonymous with intentionality and diversity: without clear goals and active outreach, the ecosystem ends up reproducing inequalities.
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How do you currently perceive the participation of black and indigenous women in decision-making spaces and in access to resources within the social and environmental impact ecosystem?
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Although there has been an increase in women (including black and indigenous ones) starting businesses and operating in the ecosystem, their presence in decision-making spaces and in access to resources is still very limited. Race often precedes gender in barriers to access, which means that black and indigenous women face a double exclusion. To move forward, it is essential to have decision-makers who are aware of this agenda, more women in these roles, and diverse committees evaluating capital allocation. Without this, diversity won’t reach spaces of power and impact will remain limited.
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Do you have any spoilers about the next edition of FIINSA?
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Yes, we do have a spoiler! The fourth edition of FIINSA will take place in Manaus on November 3, 4 and 5. There will be field immersions, two intensive days of content and a new format designed to bring the different actors in the ecosystem even closer together. The festival continues to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, communities, government bodies, foundations and organizations to build diverse agendas connected to the Amazon region. Tickets are not yet on sale, but you can already access an e-book featuring key insights from the special edition held during COP30, which will serve as a starting point for discussions at this upcoming edition.
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Innovation in Practice: Results from Amazon Hacking Program
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Some solutions begin in the classroom, while others emerge from listening to local communities. In the Amazon Hacking Program, both happen at the same time. In dialogue with communities in the Belém region, students and professors from Pará State University Center (CESUPA) are developing technologies to address real everyday local challenges.
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Among the initiatives are educational games to support math teaching, systems to organize school routines, biodigesters that transform organic waste into cooking gas, and solutions that strengthen cocoa production and the work of community associations
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The bioeconomy gains momentum when it starts from the regions and the people who live in them. A new report called Territórios Propulsores da Bioeconomia (Bioeconomy-Driving Regions) brings together experiences and lessons learned on how social and biological diversity value chains can generate income, strengthen communities and conserve the Amazon. The publication presents experiences from the Middle Juruá region and discusses pathways to strengthen these value chains and associated public policies.
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Did you like the new format of Fundo Vale’s newsletter? |
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Fundo Vale’s priority is to ensure the protection and privacy of our data, so we have reinforced our commitments regarding the collection, storage, treatment and sharing of our personal data, in accordance with Brazil’s General Data Protection Law. |
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