Estadão Special – “Internal and external pressure increases the interest in the Amazon bioeconomy”

Together with “Instituto Escolhas”, Irice handed to the Vice President Hamilton Mourão proposals to unlock the Amazon bioeconomy in the fields of funding and structure, product and market development and biodiversity protection,” informs the article in the “Estadão” special “Retomada Verde” (Green Recovery). The text brings examples of projects based on proposals listed in studies by “Escolhas”, such as the creation of programs of attraction and fixation of researchers in the Amazon and the “Sebrae da Floresta”.

The launch of the special edition on Bioeconomy of the magazine “Interesse Nacional”, a partnership of “Instituto de Relações Internacionais e Comércio Exterior” (Institute of International Relations and Foreign Trade) (Irice) with Escolhas is the subject of the matter “Bioeconomy in the Amazon a is subject of discussion”.

Read the special “Retomada Verde” published in this Sunday’s edition (07/26).

Internal and external pressure increase interest in the Amazon bioeconomy

Threat of cancellation of investments due to the increase in fires made the region return to the focus of the debates; associations and companies present their projects, which are based on the concept of growth without destruction

Cleide Silva, “O Estado de S.Paulo”

The discussion about the advance of fires in the Amazon has made it more evident that Brazil urgently needs to decide a strategy for the region. It is the first time in more than four decades that the region has become the main theme of the debates in the Country, mainly due to the increased pressure made by both foreign investors and large Brazilian businessmen.

Far from deforestation made for the advancement of livestock or agriculture and also mining projects, the solutions proposed for the region are the development of a bioeconomy (sustainable economy) that emerges with increasing force.

 

 

Civil entities, businessmen from various sectors, environmental experts and even former Central Bank presidents and former ministers of the Economy have already brought suggestions to the government for the creation of a green economy in the region. The unanimous idea is to use forest resources without tearing it down.

Last week, the movement received reinforcement from the three largest banks in the Country. Bradesco, Itaú and Santander presented a plan with ten proposals ranging from stimulating sustainable monocultures, by means of lines of funding, to the plan to attract investments that promote partnerships and the development of technologies focused on the bioeconomy.

According to Rubens Barbosa, president of “Instituto de Relações Internacionais e Comércio Exterior” (Irice), Amazon can be a focus of development, especially at this time when the Country needs to emerge from the crisis, seek external funding and rule out the risk of having agricultural products boycotted abroad.

“Brazil is the third world power in the export of agricultural products and we are in danger of being penalized due to the Amazon issue, so this should be one of the priorities of the Brazilian government,” Barbosa says.

Together with “Instituto Escolhas”, Irice handed to the Vice President Hamilton Mourão proposals to unlock the Amazon bioeconomy in the fields of funding and structure, product and market development and biodiversity protection (see example in the chart below).

In an article for the magazine Interesse Nacional, which prepared a special edition on bioeconomy, Mourão himself advocates an articulation between government and private initiative for the sustainable development of the region. “The future of the Amazon depends on an original articulation between capital, knowledge, work, technology and nature,” he says.

 

Jobs

In the plans for the Amazon, one of the concerns is the generation of jobs. The potential is thousands of vacancies. Only two projects already presented by “Instituto Escolhas” foresee the creation of almost 500 thousand jobs in the areas of reforestation and fish farming development.

“I think there is an interesting movement, the topic has become hot again. Despite the resistance of the Presidency, the country is beginning to understand that, if it does not deal well with the environmental issue, it is out of the game of international investments, because this is being imposed as a condition,” says Sérgio Leitão, executive director of the institute.

One of the institute’s projects foresees the reforestation of 12 million hectares of deforested areas, a goal assumed by the Brazilian government in 2015 in the Paris Agreement. Ready four years ago, the study foresees the need for public and private investments of R$ 52 billion by 2030. The estimated generation of R$ 28 billion in revenues and 215,000 jobs. “It would take 8 billion native trees to cover the area,” Leitão says. “The Country would create a tropical forest recovery industry and it would involve a large production chain.”

Several institutions want projects for a sustainable Amazon to be part of the post-pandemic economic recovery program, especially because external pressures to end deforestation put new investments in the Country at risk. “Investors are stamping the money and it can only be used in projects with positive social and environmental impact,” says Marina Grossi, president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), which gathers 60 major business groups and has also brought proposals to the government.

::: PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE LIST:::

Zero deforestation

Ending deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado. Deforestation accounts for CO2 emissions higher than those of the entire industrial or transport sector. (17 former Finance ministers and former presidents of BC and 60 of the largest companies in the Country)

Green ballast

To foster economic development and conservation projects by means of green ballast assets and financial instruments, such as payment for environmental services and CBIOs – decarbonization credit market (Bradesco, Itaú and Santander)

Industrial development

Map the raw materials and resources of the Amazon region, identifying the vocation of each microregion, and stimulating the development of the local industry. Create programs for attracting and fixing researchers in the Amazon. (Irice and Instituto Escolhas)

“Sebrae da Floresta” (Forest Sebrae)

Implement the “Sebrae da Floresta”, focusing on producers to stimulate entrepreneurial culture in the region. Encourage, through access to credit and public policies, the formalization of producers, cooperatives and local associations. (Irice and Escolhas)

Zoning plan

To enforce the ecological economic zoning plan to define each State’s vocations. The plan foresees, for example, the development of agroforestry systems, sustainable techniques for livestock where the activity already exists and concessions for sustainable exploitation. (iCS)

Safra Plan

Adequacy of the Safra Plan, establishing funding targets for low carbon agriculture and thus avoiding forest degradation due to unsustainable use, mainly by livestock. Expand the budget of the Low Carbon Agriculture (ABC) program, which today does not reach 5% of the total funding of the Safra Plan. (iCS)

Commodity Exchange

Creation of the Amazon Commodity Exchange (BMA), which would act as a market where sellers and buyers gather to negotiate the products of the Amazon biome, with quality assurance, delivery and payment. This would be guaranteed through instruments such as standardized contracts, receiving units and storage of strategically positioned products, in addition to mass dissemination of prices in real time. (Government of the State of Amazonas)

 

Bioeconomy in the Amazon is subject of discussion

For specialist, private investment requires, rather, a government plan that brings legal certainty and controls of deforestation, smuggling, arms trafficking and undue appropriation of land.

Cleide Silva, “O Estado de S.Paulo”

There is no point in the government developing a policy for the Amazon if the private sector does not invest, says Rubens Barbosa, president of “Instituto de Relações Internacionais e Comércio Exterior” (Institute of International Relations and Foreign Trade) (Irice). For this to happen, he says, it is required legal certainty, clear rules, control of deforestation, illegal practices, smuggling, arms trafficking, undue land appropriation.

“All this is a policy that the government has to enforce, but without the participation from the private initiative it is difficult,” Barbosa says. He advocates that companies should find ways to produce in the region. For instance, he mentions “Natura”, which uses forest products to manufacture cosmetics, but has no factory there.

This Monday, the magazine “Interesse Nacional”, edited by Barbosa 13 years ago, will bring its first special edition, with more than 50 pages with articles focused on the bioeconomy and several proposals already presented to the government. The publication was made in partnership with “Instituto Escolhas”.

Vice President Hamilton Mourão, in one of the articles, states that the “Brazilian government resumes the formulation of a Government policy for the Legal Amazon guided by the conviction that the economy and sustainability need to move forward together.” According to Mourão, who is also head of the Amazon Council, the triple helix between government, companies and universities could be the engine of propulsion of the bioeconomy and other ventures intended to the production of goods and services from the responsible use of Amazonian biodiversity.

Biodiversity

Paulo Hartung, president of “Indústria Brasileira de Árvores” (Brazilian Tree Industry) (Ibá) and former governor of Espírito Santo, quotes in an article that Brazil, the country with the greatest biodiversity in the world and with 66% of its territory covered by native forest, “is a gold mine for the sustainable development”.

According to him, “it is up to us, without taking the discussion to the ideological side, to know how to transform this potentiality into opportunities to generate jobs, value-added products, with environmentally correct origin, source and quality, which will bring foreign earnings to the country and bring income to communities away from large centers”.

The federal congressman and president of the Parliamentary Front of the Bioeconomy, Alexis Fonteyne, reinforces that the bioeconomy can enable sustainable development, which connects the productive sector with the preservation of the environment.

 

Read the full special article

• Internal and external pressure increase interest in the Amazon bioeconomy
• ‘Amazon needs technological poles’, says Inpa researcher
• Instituto defends ecologic zoning plan for region
• Bioeconomy in Amazon is subject of discussion