Despite its indisputable status as a global asset in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, the Amazon region remains one of the poorest places on Earth. For decades, the region’s predominant economic development paradigm centered on frequent and unsustainable exports of low added value commodities such as beef, soy, raw materials and timber. Amazonians were encouraged to adhere to an economic model built on land conversion and forest loss, with little incentive or choice to advance circular alternatives developed by Indigenous and small-scale societies. This session envisions a new, endogenous Amazonian development paradigm, and maps key pathways and mechanisms for its implementation.
