Finding innovative and sustainable solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss while maintaining paths to prosperity is an urgent concern for countries worldwide. Bioeconomy is an emerging policy paradigm that aims to address this challenge.
In 2024, Brazil launched its first National Bioeconomy Strategy and the GIB (G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy) under the Brazilian G20 Presidency, marking a milestone in calling national and global attention to bioeconomy as a new guiding principle for economic development.
Brazil’s National Bioeconomy Strategy calls for leveraging on natural assets to create sustainable social and economic value in various sectors, from biofuels to agriculture and biotechnology, by valorising the Brazilian socio-biodiversity. This policy aims to contribute to reducing within-country inequality and fostering a more balanced and place-based development, also valuing traditional knowledge and community-based economic systems.
Bioeconomy is particularly relevant in the case of the Amazon forest, which is not only a global natural asset, but a territory with major development needs. Covering about 6.7 million km² and spanning nine countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela), the Amazon forest is the largest tropical forest and river basin on the planet. It is home to up to 5 000 species of animals and more than 50 000 species of plants, accounting for 10% of all global biodiversity.
In Brazil, the Amazon region, home to about 60% of the total Amazon forest, is at a crossroads, facing sustainability concerns and some of the country’s highest socio-development challenges. The region is also home to 51% of the country’s indigenous population, requiring a targeted policy approach to unlock its sustainable development potential. To foster development in the Amazon region, it is crucial to transform the prevailing business models to ensure compatibility with biodiversity, forest preservation, and communities’ development. Bioeconomy can provide a unique opportunity to do so by fostering economic value in a sustainable way and respecting local communities. Science and investment can play a major role. Brazil is already among the top three countries in the world for scientific publications on bioeconomy in the Amazon, a potential that can be tapped by increasing efforts to translate research into concrete economic development opportunities. Foreign direct investment (FDI) to the Amazon region in Brazil is also playing a role with 68% of it, mostly from the United States, France and Sweden, going to renewable energy and biomass from 2020 to 2025.
To make the most of bioeconomy in the Amazon, three priorities emerge: closing transport and energy infrastructure gaps, including by improving connectivity with other Amazon countries; securing targeted financing for smallholders, as well as long-term financing for forest restoration projects; and improving mechanisms for equitable benefit sharing, combining science and traditional knowledge for innovation in the Amazon.