The Amazon plays a decisive role in the present and future of Latin America and the Caribbean, and of the planet. Its importance extends beyond its extraordinary biological, water, and climatic wealth. The Amazon is also a territory inhabited, cared for, and transformed daily by millions of people: Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, family farmers, women, rural youth, and traditional communities, that over time, have developed ways of life closely linked to the forest, rivers, biodiversity, and local agrifood systems.
This document is based on a fundamental premise: in the Amazon, production and conservation should not be undestood as opposing objectives. Evidence shows that many solutions for addressing deforestation, environmental degradation, food insecurity, and rural poverty already exist within Amazonian territories themselves—in production systems based on sustainable forest management, family, peasant, and Indigenous agriculture, traditional knowledge, and the valorization of sociobiodiversity.
Produce and conserve is an invitation to build a new development pathway for the Amazon. It is a path that recognizes the value of the standing forest, combines scientific and traditional knowledge, and transforms the Amazon’s biological and cultural wealth into well-being, food security, climate resilience, and shared prosperity.
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Towards a shared Amazonian agenda: sustainability, inclusion and regional cooperation
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Regional cooperation to harmonize policies, share information, and address cross-border challenges
Regional cooperation is essential to harmonize policies, share information, and address cross-border challenges such as deforestation and biodiversity loss. Ultimately, the principle "produce and conserve" encapsulates this new vision: reconciling ecological conservation with human development through integrated territorial governance that recognizes actors of Amazonian agrifood systems as a strategic pillar for food and climate security, as well as for the well-being of the region's inhabitants.
The Amazonian bioeconomy as a transformative driver for generating value without degrading the forest
The Amazon is at a turning point that calls replacing the extractive and agricultural expansion model with a comprehensive strategy for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development, grounded in the conservation and well-being. This requires reorienting policies and investments toward territorial sustainability, promoting agroforestry systems, local bioeconomies, and green finance, as well as strengthening the governance and capacities of local actors through participatory planning, territorial rights, and context-specific training. The Amazonian bioeconomy emerges as a transformative driver by linking traditional knowledge and innovation to generate value without degrading the forest.
The Amazon in figures
A territory the size of a continent and a population that exceeds that of the largest megacity on the planet.
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Limited access to urban centers and services
Territorial connectivity is one of the main expressions of exclusion in the region.
73% of the Amazonian population cannot reach a major city within a three-hour travel radius.
Only 36% have access to intermediate or large cities.
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Persistent structural gaps
The average poverty rate in Amazonian municipalities is 48.8%, compared with 42.0% in municipalities outside the biome.
This gap is even more pronounced in countries such as Peru (13 points), Brazil (17 points), and Colombia (22 points).
Poverty incidence by municipality
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Amazonian food security
Use of 270 foods in the daily diet: more than 200 herb species, 85 tree species, and multiple edible insects—which are crucial for nutrition and cultural identity.
The relationship between poverty and food insecurity is not uniform: in some Amazonian territories, average indicators are even better than in non-Amazonian areas.
Food security is seasonal and variable: during the high-water season, fish catches fall by 73%, quadrupling the risk of going a day without eating in riverine communities.
Who lives, produces, and preserves the Amazon?
Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant communities
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Family, peasant and indigenous agriculture
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Common challenges: access to services
Access to technical assistance and financial services is key to agricultural development. These instruments enable producers to improve production practices, adopt appropriate technologies, diversify crops, manage climate risks and increase efficiency in the use of resources.
Unlike other regions, the Amazon has a long-standing of sustainable agricultural practices adapted to the local conditions, historically developed by Indigenous Peoples, rural communities, and family farmers.
In contrast to contexts that require a radical transformation of their production systems, the Amazon already has models that have proven socially, culturally, and ecologically viable. The most critical and persistent barriers are limited access to context-appropriate technical assistance and adequate financing. Without this support, farmers struggle to access the tools needed to improve productivity, add value to their products, and sustain systems that have already demonstrated their sustainability.
Addressing these constraints is essential to harness the Amazon’s vast social, ecological, and productive capital as the foundation for an inclusive and resilient development model rooted in territorial identity.
Investing in appropriate financial and non-financial services for family farmers in the Amazon not only improves their food security and reduces dependence on imported food, but also represents a decisive step toward more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food systems.
Amazonian sociobiodiversity products and their transformative potential
The Amazon is home to unique biological and cultural wealth, reflected in a diversity of goods and services generated through the interaction between ecosystems and local communities. In this context, sociobiodiversity products—derived from natural resources managed by Indigenous Peoples, rural communities, and family farmers—offer a concrete pathway to promote sustainable development in the region. These products not only reflect ancestral knowledge and practices adapted to local conditions, but also form value chains that contribute to income generation, food security, and environmental conservation.
Cocoa production has a geographically dispersed distribution. The 20 municipalities with the largest number of farms are spread across Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, and account for 23.35% of the total recorded in the countries analyzed. Among them, San Andrés de Tumaco (Colombia) ranks first, with 2.58% of the farms, followed by Mazamari-Pangoa (Peru), with 1.93%.
In economic terms, cocoa is the second most valuable agricultural product in the state of Pará, generating approximately 1.3 billion reais in income in 2019 (around USD 23 million). However, the value structure of this value chain reveals significant territorial asymmetries. Only 0.7% of rural production is processed locally, while 99% is absorbed by the national industry, which captures significant profit margins.
Cocoa also plays a prominent role in environmental restoration and productive transition strategies. In the southern Brazilian Amazon, the Cacau Floresta project, led by The Nature Conservancy, promotes the restoration of degraded pastures through agroforestry systems that combine cocoa cultivation with high-value forest species. This approach seeks to link environmental conservation with improvements in rural livelihoods.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 350,000 families are engaged in cocoa production, directly benefiting at least 1.7 million people. The region accounts for around 15% of global cocoa bean exports and has recorded sustained growth of 11% over the past decade, in contrast to the slowdown observed in other producing regions such as Africa and Asia.
Distribution of cocoa bean cultivation by municipality
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The distribution of moriche, also known as burití or aguaje, shows a strong geographical concentration in Brazil, home to 19 of the 20 municipalities with the largest number of harvesting operations, representing 50.5% of the total recorded. In terms of volume, the 20 leading producing municipalities account for more than 60% of the total harvested—approximately 2,983 tonnes per year—with Abaetetuba, Oriximiná, and Viseu standing out as the main production centers.
The value of the moriche palm lies in its versatility. Its fruit is highly nutritious—rich in antioxidants, vitamin A, and essential fatty acids—and is used to produce juices, ice cream, sweets, liqueurs, and natural colorants. The leaves are used for roofing and handicrafts; the stems and fibers for construction and rope-making; and the seeds can be processed into oils for cosmetic and medicinal uses. Wetlands dominated by this species store carbon in deep layers of organic matter, making them important natural carbon sinks in the face of climate change. In addition, , processing residues offer opportunities for low-emission bioenergy production.
Market and cost-structure studies reveal a common paradox in wild-harvested products: although harvesting labor accounts for a large share of the total costs (up to 88.5%), the net income received by harvesters remains low. This situation highlights the urgent need for strategies that strengthen the first link in the value chain, whether through access to differentiated markets, local value addition, or payment mechanisms for ecosystem services.
Strengthening this value chain requires advancing territorial governance mechanisms, expanding technical and ecological knowledge for its use, and ensuring that the benefits generated remain, to a greater extent, in the hands of those who have cared for this resource for generations.
Distribution of moriche palm cultivation by municipality
Cupuaçu has become one of the non-timber forest products of growing importance in the Amazonian bioeconomy. Brazil accounts for the majority of registered production units. The 20 municipalities with the largest number of production units account for 41.3% of all cupuaçu operations across the countries analyzed, with Wenceslau Guimarães (Bahia) having the largest number of units (3.17%). Only one municipality outside Brazil, located in Colombia, ranks among the top 20, highlighting the strong geographical concentration of this crop in the Brazilian Amazon.
In terms of volume, the 20 municipalities with the highest production levels—distributed across Brazil and Colombia—account for 61.4% of total production, equivalent to more than 15,000 tonnes annually.
Cupuaçu offers multiple opportunities for value addition. In addition to its pulp, which is used in food and beverages, its seeds can be processed into vegetable butter and a chocolate substitute known as "cupulate." Processing residues also contain bioactive compounds, proteins, and lipids with promising applications in the functional food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in the development of high-value-added bioproducts and renewable energy generation.
The comprehensive valorization of cupuaçu represents a strategic pathway toward a circular economy model in the Amazon, bringing together productive inclusion, technological innovation, and environmental sustainability.
Distribution of cupuaçu crops by municipality
The Brazil nut, also known as the Amazon nut, is one of the Amazon's most emblematic wild forest products. It is harvested exclusively from native trees growing in tropical rainforests, and its commercialization depends on the active conservation of vast areas of primary forest in Brazil, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and Peru, estimated at more than 32 million hectares.
In terms of geographical distribution, Brazil accounts for the majority of registered harvesting operations. The 20 municipalities with the largest number of operations represent 55% of the total analyzed. In terms of production, the 20 leading municipalities together account for more than 66% of the total recorded volume, equivalent to 17,860 tonnes annually.
Globally, the Amazon nut value chain generates around USD 450 million per year. In Brazil, approximately 60,000 harvesting families participate in this activity, many of them organized into cooperatives or small community enterprises. Even so, the Plurinational State of Bolivia currently leads global exports, despite having a smaller potential production area.
Beyond trade, Brazil nut harvesting helps maintain standing forests, while its sustainable use has contributed to the emergence of development hubs in historically isolated areas, such as the northern Amazon region of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
The Brazil nut represents a strategic opportunity to align goals regarding conservation, local development, and integration into the international economy. However, it is necessary to overcome structural bottlenecks in processing, ensure decent working conditions, and strengthen community governance mechanisms for forest resources.
Distribution of Brazil nut collection by municipality
