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TO THE HEADS OF STATE AND MINISTERS OF THE 9 AMAZON COUNTRIES
In preparation for the Amazon Summit — 4th Meeting of the Heads of State Parties to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, close to 300 individuals from over 100 organizations have collaboratively developed 31 proposals aimed at enhancing the Amazon bioeconomy of standing forests and flowing rivers, respecting Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants and traditional communities’ ways of life, and improving the socio-economic prosperity of the biome’s people. Our aim is to contribute to your endeavors of conserving the Amazon for its people and the world with concrete proposals on how to support a bioeconomy as the tip of the spear of a new economic model for the region. A new, stronger economy for the Amazon countries is possible — one that is built on forest compatible economic activities, a robust state of law and a frank and open dialogue with the various stakeholders committed to the cause, particularly Indigenous and local communities living in the Amazon region. We stand ready to play an advisory role as you move forward in your endeavors.
CALL TO ACTION: FOR SCALING A SUITABLE
PANAMAZON BIOECONOMY.
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE 1ST PANAMAZON
CONFERENCE ON BIOECONOMY
Held in the City of Belem do Pará on June 21 and 22, 2023
At The Amazon is facing a tipping point of deforestation and degradation that would be devastating for South America and the world. Scientists warn this tipping point is at a deforestation level of 20-25 percent of total forest cover. Alarmingly, with current rates of deforestation, 27 percent of the Amazon will be deforested by 2030. Reaching this tipping point would result in profound changes to the region’s precipitation and temperature, which would significantly harm all the Amazon
countries’ economies and people’s livelihoods, and put the Paris Agreement 1.5C trajectory out of reach.
Now is our last, best chance to change
course and keep these precious forests
standing to safeguard the future of life on Earth. The coming decade will define
whether the Amazon — home to more than 47 million inhabitants, the majority of whom are indigenous, Afro-descendants or traditional communities — will continue with a business-as-usual or if it will become the catalyst of a new economy of standing forests and flowing rivers for its people and the world.
Evidence of the economic viability of this alternative model is mounting. Recent research has found that for example, for Brazil, a new economic paradigm could grow Brazilian Amazon annual GDP by BRL 40 billion, can create 312,000 additional jobs by 2050
compared to business-as-usual, and put Brazil under a 1.5°C pathway. This new economic model is relevant for all the Amazoniancountries: Each country contains a wealth of “forest-compatible” products, yet collectively they are now receiving just 0.17 percent of the total global market potential value. With the right policies, that can change to create jobs and income for people in all the Amazonian countries, increase land productivity, reduce water stress and soil fertility loss.
The bioeconomy can be the tip of the spear of this emerging new economic paradigm. A locally-defined and Indigenous-inspired bioeconomy can give Indigenous people, traditional communities and aligned local businesses the means to continue protecting the forest while providing them an opportunity to increase their livelihoods. This new paradigm can connect them to enhanced national ambitions, increased finance and an international community standing ready to support cohesive efforts in the region. The bioeconomy also provides essential ecosystem services to other sectors, especially for agriculture, such as rainwater irrigation, climate regulation, pollination, soil and water protection, and carbon sequestration.
A new collective of diverse stakeholders
has emerged. The Panamazon Bioeconomy Conference brought together leaders and experts from the nine Amazonian countries and several supporting governments, spanning Indigenous communities, academia, businesses, investors, international organizations, think tanks, local national and regional civil society organizations and social movements willing to continue working together to exchange knowledge, best practices and act as advisors to regional governments and institutions.
This collective urges Amazon government leaders to formally recognize the potential for robust economies based in socio-biodiversity and establish national strategies and policies to support and enhance the transition to such economies and away from the old destructive model, as a matter of national and subnational security and priority, including through the following actions with specific recommendations further:
End illegal deforestation, illicit economies, and associated violence, and enforcing the rule of law must be the top government’s priority.
Recognize that Indigenous peoples’, Afro-descendants’ and traditional communities’ are responsible for protecting the largest forest portions that provide essential ecosystem services for other economic sectors by securing their lands rights and protecting their territories against illegal activities and threats.
Shift public finance from harmful subsidies and other unsustainable investment into economically and environmentally sound incentives and promote hybrid financing mechanisms. These mechanisms can facilitate activities and business models associated with the bioeconomy, such as sustainability-linked bonds and loans, debt for nature swaps and credit enhancement mechanisms, including those tailored to small producers, Indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
Strengthen the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO/OTCA) governance by actively involving civil society, Indigenous peoples, and local actors. Develop a concerted short-term work plan on how to collectively avoid the Amazon tipping point, including common goals, metrics and an accountability mechanism.
Grow local businesses and cooperatives by addressing the excessive legal requirements, ensuring that environmental, sanitary, and fiscal legislation aligns with the specific needs and realities on the ground.
Mandate transparency and traceability
throughout deforestation-free commodities value chains connected to best-in-class
international standards.
Co-design a Pan-Amazonian platform for financing a bioeconomy with a full life for Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and traditional communities and a regional fund to support ethical science, technology and
innovation in the bioeconomy to ramp-up the valuation of bioeconomy products and services and develop basic and vocational capacities around them. This platform should include the needed investments and/or fiscal incentives in support of science, technology and innovation and its associated research and capacity.
Transform Amazon cities into bioeconomy hubs through a comprehensive sustainable infrastructure plan focused on adding value to bioeconomy products and services, including optimizing the role of rivers and air transportation to improve connectivity, diversification of renewable energy sources, and the provision of basic needs and services.
Our specific and full-fledged proposals are included, organized around the nine themes that composed the gathering, as well as a list of all individuals who participated in the discussions. We urge government leaders in the Amazon region as well as international supporting governments to take decisive action on these recommendations. There is no time to spare!
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
ROUND TABLE 1: INDIGENOUS AND
TRADITIONAL PEOPLES ECONOMY
Proposal 1: Safeguard Indigenous and
traditional peoples and their ways of life
and knowledge Indigenous peoples’ land in the Amazon region must be safeguarded against the threats they face to ensure the protection and conservation of Indigenous peoples’ and traditional communities’ territories and ways of life. This safeguarding is an enabling condition to establish other policies needed for the Panamazon bioeconomy.
Proposal 2: Guarantee that Indigenous and traditional peoples’ cultural heritage are protected in economic activities through establishing specific rules and incentives including tailored financial access to different sources of funding. Indigenous traditional knowledge systems are key for the sustainability of the Amazon. This knowledge, as well as Indigenous and traditional peoples’ cultural heritage, must be protected in any economic activity.
Proposal 3: Capacity Building for Indigenous peoples in Bioeconomy.Indigenous peoples’ production of goods and services face challenges entering the market. Capacity building is needed to address these challenges and build the capacities of Indigenous peoples in the bioeconomy.
Round table 2: IMPACT INVESTMENT
Proposal 1: Review regulatory frameworks related to the development of socio biodiversity chains with the participation of local communities. Indigenous peoples and local communities face excessive legal requirements that hinder the development of socio-biodiversity businesses within the bioeconomy. To address these challenges, governments need to align environmental, sanitary, and fiscal regulations with the realities of traditional peoples, establish local governance to streamline processes and facilitate the development and efforts of biodiversity businesses.
Proposal 2: Create an incentives/subsidies program for the bioeconomy aimed at strengthening traditional populations We must implement comprehensive government programs with the right incentives and subsidies, including grants and credit lines, improving access to credit for socio-biodiversity community initiatives, establishing tax exemption for socio-biodiversity products, minimum prices for socio-biodiversity products, and developing/enhancing payment for environmental services policies, promote public procurement programs, among others.
Proposal 3: Strengthen the territory with
a focus on local capacity development.
Strong community-based businesses and organizations require training and technical assistance for public and private markets as well as renewable energy and infrastructure for connectivity. To meet these needs, we can establish public-private cooperation
networks, public-private dialogue chambers, and strengthen public institutions that promote rural technical assistance.
ROUND TABLE 3: ALIGNING AND SCALING BLENDED FINANCE
Proposal 1: Co-create a Pan-Amazonian platform for financing a bioeconomy for Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and traditional communities. There is a need for a strong financing network (private sector, foundations, funders) to support the bioeconomy of Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and traditional communities. Establishing a platform to manage projects and financing plans for the economy of Indigenous peoples based on the Amazon’s sustainable value chains can provide financing for the protection and safeguarding of Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant, and traditional communities.
Proposal 2: Consolidate efforts to eliminate financing to illegal markets. Bioeconomy products are unable to compete with the USD 1.5 trillion market for illegal products. To combat the growth of the illegal economy, we can establish and/or strengthen the system of levers and incentives to direct capital away from illegal activities and towards the bioeconomy, as well as create alternative economic opportunities. This will allow for improved productivity, community wellbeing, and the conservation of the Amazon forest.
Proposal 3: Promote hybrid financing mechanisms for the Amazon bioeconomy, including supporting the scaling and harmonized regulation of water, carbon and biodiversity high-integrity credits. The bioeconomy requires a diverse pool of funding sources. To meet this need, we can establish a set of mechanisms and public policies that can receive different types of resources (grants, concessional). An important element should be scaling and harmonizing the regulation of market mechanisms such as credits for water, carbon and biodiversity services, especially their bundled versions to optimize ecological functions. Participants also need increased access to resources and greater equity in the bioeconomy supply
chain’s value distribution. This can be met by establishing innovative financial mechanisms, such as sustainability-linked loans (SLL) and
sustainability-linked bonds (SLB), blended finance, credit enhancement mechanisms, and debt for nature swaps, that facilitate activities and business models associated with the bioeconomy.
ROUND TABLE 4: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
Proposal 1: Develop national and Pan-
Amazonian science, technology & innovation strategies at the service of the people of the Amazon. Science, technology and innovation (ST&I) are needed to promote a bioeconomy of standing forest and flowing rivers that benefits local communities, Amazonian populations and the region’s ecosystems. This can be done by creating national and Pan-Amazonian strategies with clear goals, activities, deadlines, budget and responsibilities to mobilize comprehensive and participatory initiatives that channel intercultural science, technology and innovation to meet the needs of the people of the region. These strategies must be supported by adequate financing, which can come from removing fiscal and tax distortions to encourage the sustainable productive sector, aligning with international commitments (such as those in countries’ National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)), and the creation of national funds and/or a large international fund for ST&I of the standing forest and flowing rivers’ socio-biodiversity and adoption of new instruments that attract additional resources, such as the green rate.
Proposal 2: Double investments in basic and vocational education in the Amazon region by 2030, prioritizing inclusive, accessible and regionalized education. Currently, there is insufficient investment and a lack of guaranteed inclusivity, accessibility and prioritization of knowledge and territories of the local population within the education system of the Amazon region. To combat this, we must increase investment in basic and vocational education in the region, with a focus on ensuring quality education for all segments of the Amazon population. To best enable the Amazon population to act in the bioeconomy of standing forest and flowing rivers, we can also strengthen territorialized education, valuing local knowledge and promoting environmental and social sustainability with tailored educational approaches that respect the cultural diversity and specific needs of different communities.
Proposal 3: Stimulate work in a network of Pan-Amazonian research institutes for the bioeconomy. We need to strengthen the scientific and technical capacity and infrastructure to share information and promote networking among the research institutes of the Amazonian countries. This can be achieved by developing science, technology and innovation (C&T&I) poles — an integrated network of adequately funded research institutes — with the guarantee of a plural governance. These poles would enhance researchers’ mobility across the region, and provide training to
local professionals with research centers established in both local production areas and urban centers, as well as new research centers and technology parks that enable the sharing of knowledge and infrastructure by start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Proposal 4: Quantify ecosystem functions important for regional, national and global sustainability. To realize the bioeconomy in the Amazon, the value of ecosystem functions and services must be quantified and incorporated into national and transnational policies. This kind of scientific basis clarifies the dimensions of forests’ value and biodiversity needed for payment for ecosystem services programs and market validation. This can be done by investing in collaborative research and monitoring at the regional level to quantify ecosystem services provided at the regional, Pan-Amazonian and global levels.
ROUND TABLE 5: DEFORESTATION-FREE COMMODITIES
Proposal 1: Enhance transparency and
traceability. Scaling up deforestation and conversion-free commodities requires improved transparency and traceability throughout the commodities value chain, including information on land tenure, production, and human rights/conditions. This can be achieved by establishing national legislation and governance that enforces compliance for commercial agreements, implemented on the community level. This can result in higher value and better conditions for producers with better information and pricing for consumers, while allowing governments to achieve their conservation goals and improving public perception about deforestation and conversion.
Proposal 2: Improve incentives for forest and ecosystem conservation, sustainable use of natural resources, restoration and sustainable production. The current imbalance between negative and positive incentives favors unsustainable production. To address this imbalance, we can establish regulatory frameworks (such as national plans, legislation, policies) that promote forest conservation, sustainable use, restoration of degraded areas and sustainable production and discourage perverse incentives. Increasing access to incentives for small producers, we can mobilize resources through private sector commitments, incentive mechanisms, capacity building, technical assistance, and extension services for sustainable production.
Proposal 3: Develop green financial instruments based on bioeconomy principles for commodities. Public and private funding with strong transparency is needed to support the bioeconomy. This need can be met by designing new financial instruments with the participation of communities in the Amazon, aimed at the diversity of actors and small-scale models. These can include promotional schemes and blended finance, as well as providing technical assistance and monitoring of financial entities and communities during implementation to build capacity and governance.
ROUND TABLE 6: THE ROLE OF CITIES IN THE BIOECONOMY
Proposal 1A: Transform cities into bioeconomy hubs — Regional urban planning for bioeconomy. A coherent regional implementation strategy is needed to understand and apply the role of cities in the bioeconomy. This can be done through territorial planning that stimulates the decentralization of the productive structures articulated with urbanization plans that are adherent to the specificities of each territory.
Proposal 1B: Transform cities in bioeconomy hubs — Business ecosystem. To improve the technological densification of urban economy agents and strengthen the regional integration and diversification of bioeconomy products, we can create bioeconomy parks. These would be aimed at strengthening regional coherence and alignment between parties such as public sector, private sector, investors, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and others at different levels. These parks could be supported by territorially based universities and research institutes who can conduct research to identify relevant demands at local scale, map traditional technologies, and collaborate with local authorities and municipalities.
Proposal 2: Create new urbanization models for the bioeconomy. To transition from an unsustainable extractive model of urbanization to one that is respectful of the natural environment, we need to develop new urbanization models to energize markets associated with forest products and with urban financial services. These new models should consider the territorial and cultural diversity of the Amazon region, including the normative and institutional frameworks of each municipality and at the national and global policy level.
Proposal 3: Build collaborative networks. Promoting regional coherence and developing new urbanization models based on the bioeconomy requires dedicated mechanisms to enhance collaboration, co-creation and exchange of experiences on common issues related to challenges and opportunities in cities. To meet this need, we can design spaces to promote the exchange of experiences and communities of practice and advance the design and implementation of solutions.
Proposal 4: Develop infrastructure for cities to become hubs of economic dynamism. To improve bioeconomy businesses’ competitiveness, investor attention and economic diversification, we need cities to become hubs of economic dynamism. This can be done by developing a comprehensive infrastructure development plan to boost
the bioeconomy in the Amazon, covering river and air transportation to improve connectivity, diversification of renewable energy sources, and urban infrastructure, among other basic needs and services.
Proposal 5: Establish a finance facility to support the bioeconomy in Amazonian cities. Increased financial flows with adequate financial returns for investors are needed to support the bioeconomy. This need can be met by establishing a financial facility specifically designed to support bioeconomy projects in the Amazon through a special purpose entity. Under
this facility, all projects and financing must meet bioeconomy guiding principles, and be paired with outreach and engagement to communities, investors, donors about the bioeconomy and the facility’s mission.
The facility would be implemented in three stages: (1) project identification and preparation (capacity building and support); (2) provide initial finance to a subset of promising projects; and (3) scale by connecting with other investors. Cities will serve as homes to innovation and learning hubs where training will happen.
ROUND TABLE 7: POLICY & GOVERNANCE
Proposal 1: Strengthen ACTO/OTCA
governance. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO/OTCA) is the primary vehicle of collaborative governance between the Amazon countries, meant to promote joint, equitable and mutually beneficial actions in the Amazonian countries towards achieving sustainable development in the Amazon Region. The political and policy alignment and transparency of this entity can be strengthened through increased participation of civil society, Indigenous
peoples and local communities, and other local Amazonian actors in ACTO’s decision-making processes, starting with agreement to collaboratively update ACTO’s strategic plan to incorporate the bioeconomy as a working area. Specifically, this can be done by establishing a Joint Regional Technical Committee to set multi-government policy priorities and a common programmatic environmental agenda, with representation from Ministries of Environment, civil society and IPLCs. Additionally, ACTO’s Permanent National Commissions should be strengthened by active participation of local Amazonian actors.
Proposal 2: Develop common goals for
Amazon countries. Shared goals between the Amazon countries are needed to ensure the region moves cohesively towards developing the Pan-Amazon bioeconomy. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO/OCTA) can foster collaboration between Amazon countries to agree on shared goals for the region. This can be done by strengthening ACTO’s consultation capacity and power to adopt policies, creating networks to strengthen collaboration, improving financial mechanisms, and defining bioeconomy standards.
Proposal 3: Combat illegal activities. The current lack of integrated management plans in the Amazon region has resulted in border insecurity and cross-border illegal activities. The profit from illegal activities competes with sustainable products and ventures in the region. Creating a core action plan against illegality, with a package of anti-crime measures is urgent to combat
these challenges. A joint action plan would require a structured integrated system of border control, police, and courts, including human resources, technical capacities, and equipment (possibly through the establishment of an International Police for Environmental Crimes). It would also require shared monitoring mechanisms
and an integrated alert system, traceable production chains, and the identification of factors associated with offenses/crimes that correlate with existing environmental crimes. In terms of joint governance, shared management of command-and-control actions, and harmonization of laws against illegality can be fostered through exchange between local, state and federal bodies.
Proposal 4: Ensure access to basic services and rights. Developing a Pan-Amazon bioeconomy can only be achieved in parallel with strengthening the basic rights and services of Amazonia inhabitants. Adequate services and quality of life provide the conditions and flexibility to think and develop sustainable enterprises. Therefore, it is necessary to attend to basic rights in terms of health, education, water and sanitation, connectivity (infrastructure and communication), clean energy, and others that lead to human well-being to develop the bioeconomy. This can be done by allocating resources specifically for access to basic services, creating tax incentives for bioeconomy ventures in the Amazon, and by establishing recurring focus group meetings involving communities to ensure needs are being met.
ROUND TABLE 8: LEGALITY AND SUPPLY CHAINS
Having in mind the large opportunities in the integration of strategies, public policies, and plans among the countries of the Amazon region and recognizing that criminality and violence discourage investment, undermine the rule of law, and benefit unfair competition, we recommend:
Proposal 1: Improve the transboundary
cooperation for law enforcement. Criminality, violence, lack of compliance and insecurity are all barriers for the bioeconomy to flourish. To address these barriers, we can establish regional agreements to strengthen technical capacities of agencies and institutions, ensure trained border personnel, and provide necessary funds. With this willingness among Amazon countries to share intelligence strategies and operations at the borders, we can increase cooperation among governments and law enforcement agencies in Amazonian countries to reduce illegal activities and environmental crimes.
Proposal 2: Create a legal Amazonian
bioeconomy framework that enables IPLC and smallholder farmers to implement bioeconomy activities. Bioeconomy activities need to be attractive and feasible enough to compete with illegal activities. This can be done by adopting a legal Amazonian bioeconomy framework of policies that simplify the rules/legal and regulatory framework for small producers/ initiatives, with flexibility to customize the rules according to the size of the business, considering the complexity of sustainable businesses, the reality of Indigenous and traditional peoples, and land tenure.
Proposal 3: Provide financial, policy and
social incentives, as well as strengthen
the capacities of key stakeholders, to encourage illegal and irregular activities to become legal. Legal supply chains must display clear benefits for the people involved in them, and must be paired with economic, financial, social, and political resources to implement incentives for legal bioeconomy businesses. This can be accomplished by developing a clear set of rules that encourage individuals and bioeconomy businesses to move away from illegality,
supported by research on the benefits
generated by transitioning from the gray
area to legality in bioeconomy businesses.
ROUND TABLE 9: BUILDING A PAN-AMAZON BIOECONOMY NETWORK
Proposal 1: Influence the enabling conditions for regional, national and local policy. The Amazon region is facing political, economic, social, cultural and environmental tipping points. Enabling conditions that need to be met to raise awareness for and implement bioeconomy policies include coordination and connection across sectors, scalability, long-term sustainability, impact investments, data and knowledge management, and overall capacity building. This policy environment can be influenced by focusing on key moments of coordination (such as the meeting of heads of state at UNFCCC/CBD COPs and G20), coordinating with the OTCA and GCF Task Force, and strengthening existing national coalitions. Regional convergence can be found by identifying thematic champions to present narratives built on scientific data and supported by communication plans.
Proposal 2: Find tangible solutions, focusing on what unites us and learning from our differences. Finding solutions that meet the needs of everyone in the Amazon region requires finding synergies and points of convergence between a collective agenda and a local agenda. This can be done by widely sharing knowledge and capacity building.
Proposal 3: Establish a multidisciplinary,
regional network to support a suitable bioeconomy enabling environment. We
have an exceptional opportunity for countries to collaborate on interconnected policies that support forest conservation, alleviate poverty, combat criminality and improve
people’s livelihoods. Further, there is a need to strengthen the participation, equity and inclusivity of Indigenous peoples and local communities in the bioeconomy agenda. This could be achieved by establishing a multidisciplinary, multisector, regional network to champion a new bioeconomy
environment, supporting the conservation and restoration of the Amazon, and benefitting Indigenous peoples and local communities. Such a network could carry an apolitical, unified message across country borders for a common interest, strong enough to endure political changes, and resulting in more people knowing and committing to protect the Amazon rainforest. The network could provide opportunities to facilitate convergence (not necessarily
consensus), establish synergies and identify opportunities with private and public sectors, NGOs, IPLCs and others, improve value chains and facilitate access to markets and financing by creating collective spaces for proposal development, and provide support for grassroots organizations. The network could be led by a technical secretariat who would facilitate exchanges, workshops, and annual meetings to promote learning from best practices and lessons learned, and encourage the formation of local networks as part of the regional network. This Network will be established in congruence with existing aligned bodies and efforts and in a way that it supports other existing Networks.
ROUND TABLE LEADS
CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS
