Perspective Chapter: The Economics of Biodiversity and a Pragmatic Science for the Development of the Amazon in the 21st Century

Abstract

The use of knowledge of nature based on science and technology should be the way to economically and socially just inclusion in a new model of development of the region, generated from local conceptions but integrated with the new demands of current and future societies of the planet. Therefore, it is necessary to improve a new economy based on innovation and the sustainable use of biodiversity to generate wealth for the Amazon region and avoid activities such as cattle ranching, soy and illegal logging. The Amazon is facing a major challenge between continuing to grow at relatively low rates with a high cost to the environment and a deep social depression, or changing this pattern of development and pursuing environmentally sustained and inclusive economic growth to ensure the supply of environmental goods and services on which the well-being of the planet depends.

1. Introduction

Fostering a new economy based on innovation and sustainable use of biodiversity can generate up to five times more wealth for the Amazon region than the activities currently practiced in the biome, such as livestock, soy, and logging [1]. What should be sought for the Amazon is a proposal for a new model of economic development generated from local needs and conceptions but integrated with the new demands of the current and future societies of the planet. The idea is to stop deforestation with the application of knowledge of nature to society and create an economic system based on this knowledge and innovation for the various products or services that biodiversity offers.

Currently, the Brazilian economy is very dependent on global trade in agricultural commodities and minerals, with an intensive carbon emission, high consumption of pesticides, and a low value-added agriculture. The situation gets even worse when this system reaches the Amazon, which looks for cheap land and increases deforestation and fires, promoting the emission of greenhouse gases.

With regard to decarbonization, a characteristic of the bioeconomy, Brazil can lead this global process, and the reality and necessity impose this new paradigm. Decarbonization refers to the reduction in the use of direct and indirect derivatives of fossil fuels, as well as the reduction of methane emissions in the production of goods and services. When compared with other parts of the world, the Amazon presents itself with good conditions for the so-called green economy, since it has the largest continuous area of tropical forest in the world, an abundance of water, sunlight, and a forest-based economy with great potential to grow.

However, it is not a simple and trivial discussion to try to bring up these medium- and long-term issues. After all, what kind of economy will the Amazon have in order not to miss the Fourth Industrial Revolution underway in the twenty-first century? [2] Although to discuss this, it is still necessary to solve the mishaps of incomplete or imperfect modernization that presents itself with the lack of infrastructure and logistics, for example. Therefore, what should be discussed is how to take advantage that the Amazon region has, especially in Brazil, to lead this bioeconomy, with the integration between crops, livestock and forest with their non-timber products.

Today, the world context is shifting from mass production to specialization, with the growth of agricultural products for specific market niches and with the use of biomaterials, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. At the same time, the growing consumption for the “natural,” toward organic agriculture and biotechnology in addition to the use of other natural resources with unique characteristics, also encourages this transition.

What’s really driving this paradigm shift? The transition from mass production technologies (including petroleum and its derivatives) to an age of “smart” information and communication technologies that are transforming all aspects of society [3].

From an economic and financial point of view, this specialization of production, unlike mass production, achieves higher profit margins. For this, science, technology, and innovation will be crucial to achieve this goal.

Thus, as this transformation spreads, consumer expectations also change, and this creates immense potential for the region.

Currently, there is a strong demand to find a solution to export “exotic” tropical fruits, develop nutraceutical plants and foods, identify medicinal virtues in little-known plants, and obtain molecules of very high value (fine chemistry) or new processes from green chemistry. These new parameters can be obtained with scientific advances that can open new horizons for local companies and innovators [4].

Biotechnology is another area ripe for innovation. They are identifying and developing microorganisms to serve many purposes, such as biological control, promotion of plant growth, biomining or digestion of oil spilled into soil or water, or applications in the area of health in the search for new active principles, not to mention the potential of fine chemistry from this microbiome. All of these changes are happening in the midst of an environmental crisis. Learning how to manage natural resources and use them to create wealth, reduce poverty, and promote a sustainable economy is the urgent task.

“Smart” green technologies are already being developed from new renewable energy sources to the creation of renewable materials. But for this to become a reality, that is, prioritizing solutions as part of a new “smart green” economy, a broad consensus is required, with bold and imaginative public policies that facilitate this transformation. It is necessary to use natural goods in the light of technologies.

From this conception, the energy sector, agribusiness, biomaterials, and the non-timber exploitation of the forest are key sectors in the transition to a green economy in the Amazon. One of the ways to discuss this is the new way to consolidate a low-carbon economy with the possibilities of new industrial sectors—bioindustries.

However, one of the major obstacles to the transition to a green economy is the lack of a regulatory framework on the use of environmental services and tangible biodiversity assets such as carbon pricing and emissions certification. As for access to the genetic heritage of biodiversity, in Brazil, the new legal framework for biodiversity, embodied by Law No. 13,123, of May 20, 2015, and Decree No. 8772, of May 11, 2016, dictates the rules today. These measures, in general, can generate value along the respective production chains.

However, while part of the world invests in a new industry that produces more, saves energy, and thus causes less environmental impact, Brazil seems to remain stuck in this transition, as it has a technologically outdated manufacturing park and a tax burden that makes national production less competitive with the outside world and curbs the investments needed to leverage innovation.

One of the ways to incentivize investment to finance “green” industry is to tax carbon emissions. Activities that pollute less will be more competitive and will have greater financing possibilities for this transition. The bioeconomy in the Amazon is moving in this direction, but as long as the country bets on non-value-added commodities, few benefits will be generalized to society at large.

However, this scenario has changed in recent times due to the speed of technological advances and changes in business models, driven by factors such as economic and political crises, the environmental crisis, and the growth of the so-called digital economy. In other words, there is more desire to make this transition through opportunities than through threats to the financial health of companies. An example is the cosmetics industry, which seeks to exchange synthetic inputs for natural substances from its inputs [5].

The green economy can reduce both environmental risks and production costs. When tax incentives occur, the tendency is to increase the profit margin. This will cause positive impacts for companies (image, for example) in addition to repositioning companies through the production of new products and services. Therefore, the use of clean technology and green chemistry can be new sources of income. For the transition to a green economy, there is a need for public policies, a lot of innovation, and market instruments to make these products more viable and attractive. Thus, the low-carbon economy agenda is also an efficiency and productivity agenda.

Thus, directing the public policy of science, technology, and innovation for the economic, social, and environmental development of the Amazon involves bringing science to society adapted to a local reality and with high economic potential, which can serve as a portal to a pragmatic science based on the need to revert to society the use of knowledge in income generation.

2. The role of bioeconomy in the social, economic, and environmental development of the Amazon

For the real development of the Amazon, it will be necessary to apply the knowledge of nature based on science and technology as the path to an economic, environmental, and socially just inclusion of the region. The great challenge will be to produce sustainable technologies, train people to use the technologies, seek ways to conserve the forest, and, at the same time, leverage a bioeconomy as a tool for the rational use of its biodiversity. To transform scientific and traditional knowledge into technological innovation, through the formation of networks, in partnership with local actors, for social inclusion, economic development, and conservation of the forest and aquatic environment of the Amazon.

The great demands in the bioeconomy of the region go through the search for solutions to the regional structural problems important for the development of the Amazon, involving a holistic look at the health of the man of the forest, the rational use of natural resources, and the training of the young people of the twenty-first century aiming at the use of the forest with the maintenance of its environmental services. Thus, the goals and proposals elaborated should meet the current discussions between the countries that hold the forests and the donors of resources in how to treat the relations between the preservation of biomes and the use of land in a sustainable way for economic and social development in addition to the need to maintain the global temperature target. And as a premise, to strengthen relations with all Amazonian actors in the search for the common good for the region..

3. Why the Amazon?

Knowledge of Amazonian nature based on science and technology is the path to economic, environmental and socially just inclusion. Producing sustainable technologies, training people to use the technologies, and seeking ways to conserve the forest and rivers should serve as indications to leverage a bioeconomy as a tool for the rational use of its biodiversity. With this, the Amazon intends to become a global reference for technological innovation through the use of the information contained in the forest. As a great challenge, to transform scientific and traditional knowledge into technological innovation, through the formation of networks, in partnership with local actors, for social inclusion, economic development, and conservation of the forest and its aquatic environment..

The continental Amazon is the last large continuous surface of tropical forests on the planet; its area of 7.9 million km² represents 5% of the planet’s land surface. The Amazon basin covers about 7.0 million km², of which 5.5 million km² is covered by forest and most of it is in Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13% and Colombia with 10% in addition to Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. This Amazon rainforest represents one-third of the world’s tropical forests, in addition to containing more than half of the planet’s biodiversity [6].

Humanity has been relating to this region for a long time due to its riches and potentialities that contribute to the most diverse purposes. But greed has ravaged her as a disastrous way of seeing and exploiting her. Under this aspect, the need to understand how to work with the forest and its biodiversity, with water and with the Amazonian man, comes to the fore, which implies several social, environmental, and economic aspects.

The bioeconomy will have an important role in the twenty-first century, and there is in the region a great wealth that will provide sufficient material for research, studies, drugs, food, and cosmetics in a molecular universe practically still unknown, in addition to the mineral potentialities. That is, this diversity of natural resources is a real treasure, which emerges among the global environmental issues along with climate change, with the devastation of the forest for monocultures and livestock in addition to the pollution of aquatic environments, by illegal mining and lack of basic sanitation.

The maintenance of the “standing forest” in the Amazon is fundamental for nature and responsible for the balance of ecosystems and maintenance of the hydrological cycle on a global scale, in addition to the conservation of biodiversity being important for the economic potential it represents. The most consistent argument in its favor is aimed at halting the process of deforestation. This becomes extremely difficult if the Amazonian populations are not offered alternatives of quality of life superior to those that are available today and that degrade the environment. Therefore, the conservation and rational use of natural resources constitute the starting point for environmentally correct, socially just, and economically viable development.

For this, it is necessary to know the complexity of the different Amazonian ecosystems, as well as basic studies on the characterization, economic valuation, and rational use of their biodiversity.

On this aspect of tension, the Amazon is inserted as an important pole of natural resources, making the technical–scientific development fundamental as a tool for the social and economic development of the region with a way to generate income and, above all, so that there is the maintenance of forest conservation, allowing the improvement in the quality of life of the populations that maintain the knowledge of nature.

4. Man in the Amazon

Although there are few studies on the origins of man in the Amazon, archaeology shows that it has been colonized by populations of hunter-gatherers and unskilled fishermen since the late Pleistocene, perhaps some 12,000 years ago. Archeological evidence shows that these populations were adapted to the tropical forest and had habits improved over time to exploit Amazonian resources, domesticate, and/or manage different plants in association [7].

Currently, 50 million inhabitants live in the Amazon Basin, including the presence of more than 300 indigenous peoples (9% of the total population) with some ethnicities still isolated [8]. With a population of this size living in an area with diverse social, environmental, and economic needs, the environmental impact that affects the entire forest is inevitable. The “Ecological Footprint” that the Amazon has been suffering from the twentieth century to the present day has no comparison with any other time in its history, and some areas are already emitting more CO2 into the atmosphere than they can absorb [9].

With the scale of deforestation increasing in Brazil, the risk of a point of no return is very high, promoting the loss of the environmental function of the Tropical Rainforest. According to official data [4], deforestation in the Amazon in Brazil presents 470,382 Km² and only in 2021, the deforestation rate reached 13,235 km² and reached the worst level in 15 years. The current situation in the region encourages loggers, ranchers, and criminals to deforest the forest and invade public areas and harm indigenous peoples, especially as illegal mining [4]. And scientific data indicate that about 17% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. Research suggests that when it reaches about 20 to 25% (therefore, 3–8% more), an inflection point (point of no return) may occur to transform it into a non-forest ecosystem such as savanna [9, 10].

Colombia has lost 1.3 million hectares of forests, caused by deforestation as a result of the expansion of agricultural frontiers—illegal and illegal—colonization, illegal mining, logging, and forest fires [11]. The Peruvian Amazon lost more than 1.2 million hectares, and 2020 was the worst year in history with the devastation of 200,000 hectares of forest with deforestation of the forest and irregular mining and contamination of water with chemicals and heavy metals [12].

To change this picture of high vulnerability, the development of the region has to be directed in investments in three main types of capital: human capital (health and education), infrastructure (digital power and transportation), and companies (biobusiness). The poor countries that make up the Amazon have low levels of these types of capital. On the other hand, this difficulty can be an opportunity and a potential to grow quickly with investments in each of these strategic points. Today, this growth can and should be green and digital in a low-carbon economy [13].

5. The economic and environmental value of the forest

As an environmental service, the Tropical Rainforest in the Amazon acts as a giant “air conditioner,” reducing the Earth’s surface temperatures and generating rain that exerts a strong influence on the atmosphere and circulation patterns on a global scale. When returned to the atmosphere, a part of this moisture generates aerial currents known as “flying rivers” that transport about 20 billion T of water daily and the Amazon River 17 billion T of water to the ocean [10].

This profusion of natural water pumps from the forest ensures daily rainfall in the biome, in addition to regulating the entire rainfall regime in Brazil and other countries in the region. The deregulation of this system by deforestation causes temperatures to be higher and dry seasons to be more prolonged [9]. The increased occurrence and period of these dry seasons is what is leading to the “point of no return” of the forest in the region.

How to prevent the Amazon rainforest from losing its ability to feed back rainfall? In a scenario of weak governance, the southern region of the Brazilian Amazon could lose 56% of its forests by 2050 [9, 10]. With the capacity to absorb carbon decreasing, the service that the Amazon rainforest provides to the planet is decreasing, and this increases the climate crisis on a global scale [14, 15].

For the Amazon, the current challenges in economic, environmental, and social issues lead to a dilemma: (1) continue growing at relatively low rates with a high cost to the environment and a deep social depression or (2) change this pattern of development and seek sustained and inclusive economic growth to ensure the provision of environmental goods and services on which the development of a country and the well-being of its society depend [16]. The bioeconomy can contribute substantially to sustainable development by increasing the quality of the raw material produced by the forest, food security, and environmental health [17].

Within this context, it is important to emphasize and discuss the Amazon bioeconomy on the agenda of a “Pan-Amazonian Policy of Payment for Environmental Services” that will allow, in a transnational way, the actors of the value chains to adopt ecological actions in the management of the forest and its environmental resources in exchange for resources for their economic activities. This concern with ecosystem services has always been seen as an obstacle to investments, but it is necessary to reverse this scenario by adopting ecological actions in exchange for financial resources.

Starting an effective transition to a green economy requires the participation and investment of the public and private sectors in different areas, including agriculture, energy, forestry, tourism, transportation, manufacturing, and city infrastructure. Some of the investments to be encouraged are renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency in homes and bioindustry facilities, water reuse, wind energy, and efficient means of transport that converge to the valorization and maintenance of ecosystem services. This lack of attention to these markets possibly reflects the reluctance of governments to be seen as players in this shift. One of the challenges is to adapt the complexity of the value chains in this transition with the fossil economy [18].

In this sense, the viable economic activity for the Amazon goes through a decentralized bioeconomy with a network of industries and teaching and research institutes acting in technological innovation and adding value in the processing of non-timber products [15]. However, the reality shows the lack of knowledge of the mechanisms of a forest-based economy that takes into account an operational technical need for the use and conservation of the forest and its systemic environmental services of the forest. This is the challenge for the twenty-first century Amazon.

6. Strategies

The production of knowledge is based on the fact that one is studying systems consisting of a large number of agents, which integrate to produce adaptive survival strategies for the components of the system and for the system as a whole. The current demand is to work on a management model with shared and collaborative public–private partnership, in order to promote interaction between the various actors, institutes of science and technology, research and development centers, and local, national, and international academies, adding efforts for the development of strategic areas of the Amazon bioeconomy. Thus, the actions must have well-defined focuses and consider that there is a system consisting of elements that interact with each other and that is self-arranging for its sustainability and achievement of its goals. This requires the observance of the phenomenon to be studied holistically and multidimensionally [4].

An important issue is to encourage a management of research, development, and innovation in strategic areas considering the critical mass available, the local research infrastructure, the graduate programs, and the direction of the solutions of the existing “gaps” for the production of a chain of knowledge that develops its processes and products from beginning to end, aiming to meet the specific demands of the market and, above all, that fixes man and strengthens a forest-based economy.

Thus, strategic partnerships between the various actors of the region must occur to generate and support enterprises, production of goods and services, innovative solutions, contribution to the quality of critical mass, technological development, and industrial and intellectual production, bringing together public and private institutions. These are necessary bases of action to solve various problems of the populations and make the Amazonian bioproducts more competitive and with market potential.

Another important action is to attract investments for the training of human resources and contribution to training programs, development, and training and fixation of specialized professionals (technicians, specialists, masters, doctors, managers, and entrepreneurs) who carry out activities in support institutions, government, science and technology institutions, companies, and investment institutions, among others, establishing mechanisms to supply critical mass that respond to specific demands.

The training of the young people who inhabit the various cities of the Pan-Amazon should be the main factor for the conversion of the logic of forest use. To this end, interactions with science and technology institutes are extremely important for the academy to respond with the training of People and Innovation, Technology and Market so that there is social and economic growth in the region in a rational and universal way.

The purpose of this discussion is the construction of a strategic agenda that will define the actions and priorities in the bioeconomy in the Amazon. The starting point for the development of the work is the elaboration of the demands anchored in the knowledge of those who work directly with the value chains in the Amazon. For this, it is necessary to strengthen and expand the information bases to suggest lines of actions/projects/research related to technological and market demands to strengthen the main value chains. The dialog to be conducted between different sectors, including public policy makers, academia, civil society, and the private sector will serve as a panorama for various actions that can be carried out by the public power and/or the private initiative and with the inclusive participation of local society. Such answers will come from a multidisciplinary view on the various themes and issues pertinent to the bioeconomy of the region. This electronic form will serve as the first tool for guiding the priorities of the various issues and themes to be addressed.

7. Human resources training

Involve high school, technical, and technological institutions, in network, in the formation of young people for the Pan-Amazon of the twenty-first century to contribute to the design and implementation of professional training models appropriate to Amazonian issues. For this, it is important to strengthen and expand training and extension programs for the sustainable development and conservation of the Pan-Amazon and to facilitate the mobility and exchange of researchers and students participating in activities related to the sustainable development of the Amazon. Another challenge is to promote mechanisms to stimulate the establishment of qualified personnel for scientific and technological production in the Pan-Amazon, with emphasis on strategic sectors in line with regional, national, and international cooperation, which enables the creation of thematic networks, minimizes efforts, and stimulates integrated scientific initiatives for the study of the environments and biodiversity of the Amazon.

The creation of new teaching modalities and innovative approaches on biodiversity with the strengthening of entrepreneurship, as well as the creation of transdisciplinary poles and educational centers of excellence, demands large-scale public–private financial incentives. The development of the bioeconomy depends on new technologies based on local knowledge. For this reason, the principles of sociodiversity in the Amazon are fundamental to begin the transition to a sustainable economy. In parallel, education must remain connected with the global ST&I ecosystem and ensure cognition processes for Amazonian students. These educational models can provide local talents with the competencies to meet the demands of each micro-region and international markets [13].

8. Training of young people from the interior of the Amazon region for the needs of the Bioeconomy

Prepare high school students for jobs in the region and meet the training needs of young people, allowing them to undertake for the development of the bioeconomy and support state networks and federal institutes present in the Legal Amazon to implement technical and professional training focused on the main value chains of the bioeconomy..

9. Strengthening the value chains of the bioeconomy in the Amazon

The components of the production chains will be analyzed locally, and the inhibitory and high-performance driving factors will be identified to propose solutions that respond to the identified problems. The method used will be the case study, analyzed with a multidisciplinary view, considering the three units of analysis proposed in the agreement: açaí, Brazil nuts, and guarana, but other important units such as cocoa and pirarucu may be inserted. This primary analysis of the situation aims to identify critical factors to increase the competitiveness of productive chains with consumption potential in the markets and for the generation of employment and income.

10. Generation of sustainable biobusinesses in the Amazon

Sustainable practices bring competitive advantage to Brazil and the national productive sector, which must be increasingly committed to an inclusive economic model and that is also established with the inclusion of an Amazon bioeconomy. The business from the forest assets in the Amazon encourages social and environmental transformations, with the generation of work and income for Amazonian communities, maintaining the “Forest Standing” with reduction of deforestation, biodiversity conservation, and the maintenance of an economically active population in the interior, fostering the forest-based economy.

11. Challenges for the implementation of sustainable biobusinesses in the Amazon

Challenges to implementing sustainable biobusinesses in the Amazon include the lack of infrastructure and logistics, the lack of fiscal and financial incentives, the lack of technical and managerial training of producers, and the lack of market access. In addition, deforestation and burning are a major problem in the region.

12. Conclusion

When it comes to the Amazon region, it is observed that there is no simple option for the development of the region. The challenge of combining the necessary economic development with the preservation of the forest implies building paths capable of generating income and quality of life for their populations. This quest for development must lead to an interaction between social forces capable of using the riches derived from biodiversity and other regional natural resources without destroying them. And this cannot be achieved by replicating the current patterns of economic development.

The main challenge in the development of the region is the formation of a critical mass with the capacity to analyze and provide solutions to Amazonian problems. An essential condition to be used will be the critical capacity of educational and research institutions in the Amazon to develop local collaborative activities to understand the dynamic processes of the Amazon biome and stimulate new businesses involving biodiversity and environmental services.

The proposal described here serves the Amazon region, and its development requires exactly something that enhances the transformations and induces really enabling options for a more promising future, as well as promotes greater articulation of regional structures to national and international circuits, in order to intensify trade and financial flows and cultural, scientific, and technological exchange.