The socio-bioeconomy in Pará state, Brazil, has the potential to generate an income of more than US $30 billion in 2040

Conducted by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Natura, the study brings unprecedented socioeconomic analyses on the impacts of the socio-biodiversity production chains in the state.

Professor Francisco de Assis Costa, Ph.D. from the Center for Higher Amazonian Studies (NAEA/UFPA), coordinated the research that analyzed thirty socio-biodiversity products from Pará, from production to commercialization. In 2019, those chains generated a GDP of US $970 million. The value is almost three times greater than the official statistics from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which indicated a gross production value of US $341 million in the same year as it considered rural production only, the first link in the production chain. In addition, it is estimated that the chains have generated around 224,000 jobs.

Juliana Simões, the deputy manager of the Strategy for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Communities at TNC Brazil, believes that that analysis is critical because it looks at the entire chain, closing the production cycle from the initial link, rural production of socio-biodiversity, to the last one, sales of products in the most diverse markets.

"There is great potential for the development of those chains in the state, helping give scale to the commercialization of the products, which can be grown under the premise of sustainable development," she highlights.

Juliana Salles Almeida, a leading specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, agrees. For her, "this innovative study demonstrates that bioeconomy—based on bioecological principles—is not only an extremely profitable investment for the local economy but also an important element for the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. Keeping the forest standing is the main driving force for income generation and reduction of social inequalities in the Amazon region, and it is one of the pillars of the Bank's 2025 Vision, our guide for the sustainable recovery of the region."

The products that most stood out were açaí, cocoa-almond, Brazil nut, heart of palm, rubber, tucumã, cupuaçu-almond, cumaru, murumuru, and Brazil nut oil. They generated more than 96% of the income, equivalent to over US $ 933 million. The demand for those products comes mainly from the consumer market outside of Pará state.

By projecting future potential economic gains accompanied by appropriate public policies in the next two decades, the study shows that the production chains for açaí, cocoa-almond, chestnut, copaiba, cumaru, andiroba, honey, buriti, cupuaçu, and heart of palm could generate a total of US $ 30.5 billion in 2040. That is an increase of more than thirty times its current value.

Natura has worked for over 20 years with Amazon communities offering technical assistance, technology transfer, management and investment learning, and installing forest Agri industries. The company understands that the valuation of environmental services is also an important source of income that can lead to dealings that positively impact all people.

"We can have a central role in the global sustainability and low-carbon economy, if we choose models compatible with the conservation and regeneration of biomes, innovating with investments in the socio-bioeconomy of standing forests, science and technology, and combining human development and valuing communities and traditional knowledge," explains Denise Hills, Natura &Co's sustainability director for Latin America.

Studies by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggest a global deficit of information on the economy of small rural communities, which generates income for the local population and helps conserve ecosystem services. Thus, the methodology of that study can contribute to other countries, enabling the data of those local products to enter national accounts to foster local public policies.