Belem Unveils Amazon Bioeconomy Blueprint Ahead of COP30
Brazil’s host city of COP30 pushes a rainforest-based development model, aiming to prove that sustainable industry can generate jobs while protecting the Amazon.
While the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) continues in Belém, Brazil, indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire met with COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago. Photo by Anadolu Images.
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n the banks of the Guama River, where the dense emerald canopy of the Amazon brushes against the bustling streets of Belem, Brazil is testing an ambitious economic model that aims to link prosperity with preservation. As the city prepares to host the COP30 climate summit next year, officials in the state of Pará are racing to demonstrate that the rainforest can generate wealth without being cut down.
At the center of this effort is a new state-backed initiative that turns forest products—acai, Brazil nuts, cacao, indigenous herbs, and more—into high-value goods for global markets. Rather than relying on cattle ranching, mining, or other extractive industries that fuel deforestation, Pará’s government is betting on a “living forest” economy powered by research, innovation, and traditional knowledge.
“Our intention is for Pará to turn its forest assets into a new strategic sector that transforms our biodiversity into a new economy,” Governor Helder Barbalho told Reuters. “This will help us reduce dependence on greenhouse gas–emitting industries in favor of low-emission economies that value the living forest.”
A new bioeconomy hub
In October, state officials opened the 300 million-real ($56 million) Bioeconomy and Innovation Park, a sprawling research and production center situated down the river from Belem’s iconic Ver-o-Peso market. The facility features 6,000 square meters of warehouse space, laboratories, and equipment designed for entrepreneurs to experiment with new forest-based goods—from gourmet foods to natural oils and fragrances.
Local chef Leonardo Souza was among the first innovators to make use of the park’s facilities. By scaling production of his artisanal Amazon herb–infused salt from just 60 jars a day to nearly 1,000, he says he is now able to support four times as many families collecting herbs in the forest. “We worked with 42 families supplying herbs. Now it will be around 200,” he said.
This emerging economy builds on fertile ground. A joint 2019 study by the Inter-American Development Bank, The Nature Conservancy, and cosmetics giant Natura found that Pará’s forest product value chains already generate 4.24 billion reais annually—nearly equal to revenues from livestock grazing, long one of the region’s economic pillars.
Acai’s global boom
Among the most successful products is acai, the antioxidant-rich purple berry whose global popularity continues to surge. Market projections from Brazil’s government estimate the acai sector will grow from $1.23 billion in 2024 to more than $3 billion by 2032.
“Income for acai producers is very good because prices have risen significantly,” said Damien Binois, founder of NOSSA! AÇAÍ. The French entrepreneur, who first tasted acai in 2012, now exports to Europe, works with 150 local producers, and plans to build a large processing plant that could employ 200 people by 2030.
Innovation meets tradition
Other initiatives blend modern production with long-standing Amazonian expertise. The NGO Amazonia Agroflorestal helps farmers cultivate shade-grown coffee while reforesting land previously cleared along the Trans-Amazonian highway. The group’s director, Sarah Sampaio, is now using the state’s new labs to develop packaging and premium blends for domestic and international markets.
At the Ver-o-Peso market, which has served as a hub for forest products since 1901, indigenous knowledge remains central. Vendors like 72-year-old Bete Cheirosinha—who sells herbs and tinctures passed down through five generations—embody the deep cultural roots of the bioeconomy. “There are more than a thousand types of herbs,” she said. “Each curing a problem.”
For many local families, the value of Amazon goods goes beyond economics. “We awaken memories,” said Allison Charles, who sells cassava flour with his mother. “That’s rewarding.”
As COP30 approaches, Belem is positioning itself as proof that forest conservation and economic opportunity can reinforce each other. Whether this bioeconomy model can scale fast enough to compete with powerful extractive industries remains an open question. But for now, Brazil hopes its experiment will offer a blueprint not just for the Amazon—but for climate policy worldwide.
(Source: Reuters)
