Liberal Amazon: Recent Episodes
O Liberal
The 'Liberal Amazon' project Podcast is an initiative of Grupo Liberal to enhance the world's access to information about the Amazon and assist the teaching and practice of the English language in the region.
It is not new that the castanheira-da-Amazônia [Brazil nut tree] has social and economic importance in the context of the biome that names the tree. Traditional families, such as those made up of riverine people, indigenous people and quilombolas, guarantee part of their income from the production and sale of the seed of this species, the Brazil nut. The food generated more than R$170 million in the Amazon Region in 2022 – the year of the last update made by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) –, the result of the harvest of 38,169 tons produced and it has potential for more.
LIBERAL AMAZON
Castanheira-da-Amazônia é opção para reflorestamento e bioeconomia
Não é de hoje que a castanheira-da-Amazônia tem importância social e econômica no contexto do bioma que nomeia a árvore. Famílias tradicionais, como as compostas por ribeirinhos, indígenas e quilombolas, garantem parte da renda a partir da produção e venda da semente dessa espécie, a castanha-do-Pará. O alimento movimentou mais de R$ 170 milhões na Região Amazônica em 2022 – ano da última atualização feita pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) –, resultado da colheita de 38.169 toneladas produzidas e tendo potencial para mais.
Debates involving oil exploration in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin have encompassed energy transition, environmental and social impacts and, more recently, the capacity to generate employment and income. The region comprises the coast of Amapá and extends over 2,200 kilometers to Rio Grande do Norte, covering three states in the Amazon: Amapá, Pará and Maranhão. In all these states, the expectation is that 162,248 jobs will be created with the start of oil research activities, with a total increase of R$32.3 billion to the local Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Exploração petrolífera pode gerar 162 mil empregos na Amazônia
Os debates acerca da exploração de petróleo na Margem Equatorial brasileira têm envolvido transição energética, impactos ambientais e sociais e, mais recentemente, a capacidade de geração de emprego e renda. A região compreende o litoral do Amapá e se estende ao longo de 2.200 quilômetro até o Rio Grande do Norte, abrangendo três estados da Amazônia: Amapá, Pará e Maranhão. Neles, a expectativa é que 162.248 postos de trabalho sejam criados com o início das atividades de pesquisa petrolífera, tendo um acréscimo total de R$ 32,3 bilhões ao Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) local.
Research needs to overcome challenges in the Amazon region
Doing research in the Amazon means that, in order to present results that bring development and a better life to the population that is part of the biome, there is a need for investment to deal with the conditions in which the institutions focused on in this work are inserted. By 2024, for example, at least R$246 million are needed in resources to be transferred to just three of the various centers for the production of knowledge in the region: the Bionorte Network, the Guamá Science and Technology Park (PCT) and the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará (MPEG).
LIBERAL AMAZON
Pesquisa precisa superar desafios na região amazônica
Fazer pesquisa na Amazônia significa que, para apresentar resultados que tragam desenvolvimento e melhoria de vida à população que faz parte do bioma, há a necessidade de investimentos para enfrentar as condições em que as instituições focadas neste trabalho estão inseridas. Para 2024, por exemplo, no mínimo R$ 246 milhões são necessários em recursos a serem repassados para apenas três dos vários polos destinados à produção de conhecimento na região: a Rede Bionorte, o Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia Guamá (PCT) e o Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG).
The peculiarities surrounding Belém, host city of the 30th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP 30), should serve as attractions for hundreds of tourists who will visit the capital of Pará. During the two weeks of the mega-event, in 2025, the eyes of the world will be on the city. Whether for its cuisine, history, museums, islands, or for the importance the Amazon biome has been gaining in the international context, the metropolis will be in evidence for people from different countries. To serve this audience and, more than that, leave a legacy that transforms the lives of people in the region, it is necessary to overcome some obstacles.
LIBERAL AMAZON
Turismo na COP 30 precisa deixar legado estrutural, cultural e ambiental
As peculiaridades que envolvem Belém, sede da 30ª Conferência das Partes das Nações Unidas (COP 30), devem servir de atrativos para centenas de turistas que vão visitar a capital do Pará. Durante os quinze dias do megaevento, em 2025, os olhos do mundo estarão voltados para a cidade. Seja pela culinária, pela história do local, museus, ilhas, ou pela própria importância que o bioma amazônico vem ganhando no contexto internacional, a metrópole estará em evidência para pessoas de diversos países. Para atender esse público e, mais que isso, deixar um legado que transforme a vida das pessoas da região, é necessário que alguns gargalos sejam consertados.
Social design and brand management enhance value of forest products
The world is increasingly turning its attention to the Amazon. Whether for its climatic importance, the potential of its biodiversity, or a belated recognition of its traditional peoples, the region is a powerful symbol globally. According to researchers in the field, the Amazônia [Amazon] has become a brand that adds economic and symbolic value to products and services and builds consumer loyalty.
Design social e gestão de marca valorizam produtos da floresta
Cada vez mais, o mundo volta os olhares para a Amazônia. Seja pela importância climática, pelo potencial de sua biodiversidade ou por uma tardia valorização de seus povos tradicionais, a região é um símbolo poderoso em nível global. De acordo com pesquisadores da área, a Amazônia se converteu em uma marca, que agrega valor econômico e simbólico a produtos e serviços e fideliza consumidores.
In the middle of a pineapple plantation, there is a secondary education and youth/adult education (EJA) classroom. To teach his classes, math teacher Nic Júnior replaces the formality of the traditional method for rural pedagogy. Instead of blackboard and chalk, he uses pineapple ploughing, cassava flour manufacturing, fishing and other activities performed by communities in the rural area of the Marajó Archipelago to earn a living. Liberal Amazon watched one of the teacher's classes to better understand his method, based on the life and work in the Boa Vista quilombola ancestral community, in the town of Salvaterra.
Professor usa a pedagogia do campo para ensinar matemática
No meio do caminho da plantação de abacaxi tem uma sala de aula do ensino fundamental e da educação de jovens e adultos (EJA). Para ministrar as aulas, o professor de matemática Nic Júnior troca a formalidade do método tradicional pela pedagogia do campo. No lugar da lousa e do giz, são utilizadas a lavoura de abacaxi, a fábrica de farinha, a pesca e outras atividades que garantem o sustento das comunidades da zona rural do Arquipélago do Marajó. O Liberal Amazon acompanhou uma aula do professor Nic Júnior para entender melhor o método ensinado, a partir da vida e do trabalho na comunidade ancestral quilombola Boa Vista, no município de Salvaterra.
A project enhances visibility to riverine people carpentry
The styles, shapes, details, ideas, and knowledge produced by riverine carpenters from the islands of Pará are gaining prominence within the local and national markets. There are houses, restaurant structures, furniture, different types of braided roofs, and paintings that have a particular and unique touch by the residents of the region. Something that was previously unknown and retained on the banks of the river, today is seen as a way to ensure local development with income generation, visibility to art produced in the Amazon, and conservation of the environment.
Projeto dá visibilidade à carpintaria de ribeirinhos
Os estilos, formas, detalhes, ideias e saberes produzidos por carpinteiros ribeirinhos das ilhas do Pará, estão ganhando destaque dentro do mercado local e nacional. São casas, estruturas para abrigar restaurantes, móveis, tipos de trançados para telhados e pinturas que possuem um toque particular e único dos moradores da região. Assim, o que antes era desconhecido e retido às margens do rio, hoje é visto como uma forma de garantir desenvolvimento local com geração de renda, visibilidade à arte produzida na Amazônia e conservação do meio ambiente.
Amazon is the biome in Brazil with the fewest records of invasive alien species (IAS), whether animals or plants, making up the forest. The region has 80% remaining natural areas. This reality contrasts with that of the Atlantic Forest, which has only 12% to 28% of its original area. However, the environmental devastation caused by the current levels of deforestation underwent by the Amazon ecosystem has been an issue of concern by researchers.
mazônia resiste ao cerco da vida que vem de fora
A Amazônia é o bioma do Brasil que menos possui registro de espécies exóticas invasoras (EEIs), sejam animais ou plantas, compondo a floresta. A região tem 80% de áreas naturais remanescentes. A realidade contrasta com a Mata Atlântica, por exemplo, que apresenta apenas de 12% a 28% da área original. Entretanto, a devastação ambiental causada pelos atuais níveis de desmatamento que o ecossistema amazônico enfrenta tem sido alvo de preocupação de pesquisadores.
Signing an agreement to reinforce the bioeconomy in the Amazon and to strengthen ties with the region is one of the reasons for the visit to Brazil the French President Emmanuel Macron has already signaled for this year. The agenda is supposed to take place in Belém, capital of the state of Pará. The federal government says the meeting will take place on March 26 - although the French Embassy hasn’t yet announced the date officially. At the end of February, the state governor, Helder Barbalho, and the French ambassador, Emmanuel Lenain, met to discuss the meeting, which is part of the preparations for the 30th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP 30), which will take place in 2025 in Belém.
Agenda diplomática prepara para a COP 30
A assinatura de um acordo para reforçar a bioeconomia na Amazônia e estreitar os laços com a região é um dos motivos da visita que o presidente da França, Emmanuel Macron, já sinalizou este ano para o Brasil. A agenda deve ocorrer em Belém, capital do Estado do Pará. O governo federal diz que o encontro será no dia 26 de março – embora a Embaixada da França ainda não tenha divulgado oficialmente uma data. No fim de fevereiro, o governador do estado, Helder Barbalho, e o embaixador francês, Emmanuel Lenain, estiveram reunidos para detalhar o encontro, que é parte dos preparativos para a 30ª Conferência da ONU sobre Mudanças Climáticas (COP 30), que ocorre em 2025 em Belém.
The success of social justice and environmental conservation in the Amazon is largely dependent on the land tenure challenge endured for centuries in the region. In total, the biome has 118 million hectares of public land without a precise destination – an equivalent area to France’s and Germany’s territories added together (the two largest countries in Europe). Of this total, around 59.5 million hectares – 50.4% – may be turned into protected areas.
Regularização fundiária é chave para a preservação
O sucesso da justiça social e da conservação ambiental na Amazônia está amplamente ligado ao desafio fundiário que, há séculos, está presente na região. Ao todo, o bioma possui 118 milhões de hectares de terras públicas sem uma destinação definida - o equivalente a uma França e uma Alemanha juntas, os dois maiores países da Europa. Desse total, cerca de 59,5 milhões de hectares, o equivalente a 50,4%, podem ser transformados em áreas protegidas.
The assertion that the Amazon only became urbanized after Europeans invaded the region in the 15th century is part of an increasingly outdated imaginary. Recent discoveries in Ecuador, a South American country that shares part of the Amazonian territory with eight other nations, indicate that the forest has a history of organizations and urban development dating back more than 2,500 years. And this is not the oldest record.
Marajó island, located in the state of Pará, Northern Brazil, is part of the world’s largest fluviomarine archipelago, bathed by rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. With 16 municipalities and an area of approximately 50,000 km², the region is larger than Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo territories. The place’s stunning natural beauty attracts the attention of tourists from the country and abroad, who experience unique contact with the Amazonian nature. Marajó has three major attractions: its paradisiacal beaches, the remarkable presence of buffaloes, and rich handicraft production. In contrast to its abundance, the place is one of the poorest in the country, and tourism is seen as one of the most viable alternatives to promote development and generate prosperity for its population.
Turismo é opção de prosperidade para o deslumbrante Marajó
A ilha do Marajó, localizada no estado do Pará, Norte do Brasil, faz parte do maior arquipélago fluviomarítimo do mundo, banhado por rios e pelo oceano Atlântico. Com 16 municípios e área de aproximadamente 50 mil km², a região é maior que os territórios do Rio de Janeiro e do Espírito Santo. A deslumbrante beleza natural do local atrai a atenção de turistas do País e do exterior, que a experiência única do contato com a natureza amazônica. O Marajó tem três grandes atrativos: suas praias paradisíacas, a presença marcante dos búfalos e de um rico artesanato. Em contraste às suas abundâncias, o lugar é um dos mais pobres do País, e o turismo é visto como uma das alternativas mais viáveis para se promover o desenvolvimento e gerar prosperidade para a sua população.
Long distances, isolated areas, difficult access, precarious communication and legal gaps that still await the presence of security forces, justice and public authorities in a more effective way. This is the scenario found by the organized crime when it settles in the corners of the Amazon. And on the routes established for illegal activities, organized crime joins environmental crimes seeking ways to act where the State cannot easily reach. Due to these peculiarities, there is a consensus among state public security authorities that the combat actions in the Amazon region is different from that experienced in other parts of Brazil. The costs are infinitely higher and so are the operational difficulties. Even on different fronts, forces are increasingly seeking integration, whether at the state or federal level, to try to put together a strategy to combat crime in the largest region of Brazil. Security bases integrating different bodies, equipment and differentiated and advanced technologies are some of the measures adopted.
Brazil is the largest country in South America, with an impressive area of 8,514,004 km². This giant nation also covers the largest portion of one of the most important biomes on the planet: the Amazon. It covers 6.7 million km², 60.1% of which belongs to the Brazilian territory. All this geographic grandeur is, today, well delimited by 16,886 kilometers of borders. What few people know is that these limits represent the result of the work of men and women who ventured into the most challenging terrains to demarcate the national territory. It is the effort of the members of Primeira Comissão Demarcadora de Limites (PCDL) [First Limits Demarcation Commission]. PCDL is a body linked to the Ministério das Relações Exteriores (MRE) [Ministry of Foreign Affairs], headquartered in Belém, capital of Pará, created in 1928 to undertake the challenge of demarcating the borders in the North of Brazil.
LIBERAL AMAZON: Desbravadores desenharam Amazônia Brasileira
O Brasil é o maior país da América do Sul, com impressionantes 8.514.004 km². O gigante também abarca a maior porção de um dos biomas mais importantes do planeta: a Amazônia. São 6,7 milhões de km², sendo 60,1% pertencentes ao território brasileiro. Toda essa grandiosidade geográfica é, hoje, bem delimitada por 16.886 quilômetros de fronteiras. O que pouca gente sabe é que esses limites são fruto do trabalho de homens e mulheres que se aventuraram nos mais desafiadores terrenos para demarcar o território nacional. É o trabalho dos integrantes da Primeira Comissão Demarcadora de Limites (PCDL). A PCDL é um órgão ligado ao Ministério das Relações Exteriores (MRE), com sede em Belém, capital do Pará, criado em 1928 para empreender o desafio de demarcar as fronteiras ao Norte do Brasil.
Family production model becomes an alternative for sustainable development in the Amazon region
Putting a sustainable production model into practice, with the potential to feed the more than 1.3 million inhabitants of Belém, one of the main metropolises in the Amazon, has become a reality. Urban and peri-urban agriculture, carried out on the outskirts of cities, correspond to a set of techniques involving the cultivation of vegetables and fruits, and animal husbandry in large centers.
The practice has been developed around the world for several years. However, in the capital of Pará, researchers claim that the activity, which began to gain prominence from the 1970s onwards, has become a great ally in reducing the effects of climate change - in addition to contributing as an effective solution to combating food insecurity and the economic deficits found in the region.
Even though it generates renewable energy, Amazon region has almost a million people living without electricity.
If you are reading this article in the printed newspaper, under the light of a lamp, or in the digital version, on a computer screen, you are not part of the more than one million people in the Legal Amazon (1,154,916, in exact numbers) who do not have any access to electricity, according to data from the Ministry of Mines and Energy. In Pará, data shows that 709,196 people live under these conditions. To tackle the problem, a project proposed by the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) has been a real ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, providing clean energy to riverside communities near Belém. For at least six years, the project of “Grupo de Estudos e Desenvolvimento de Alternativas Energéticas” (Gedae) [Group of Study and Development of Energy Alternatives] at UFPA has been working on the capture, storage and distribution of photovoltaic energy on “Ilha das Onças”, a location that belongs to the municipality of Barcarena, in the Northeast of Pará state, and about 30 minutes from the capital by river. Most of the approximately 30,000 families living there do not have any access to electricity via public distribution system, and depend on private solutions to obtain energy, such as the use of diesel or gasoline generators. In addition to being expensive, these resources are polluters and can affect local biodiversit
UFRA researcher explains how ancient culture that gained strength in the hands of forest people can be a solution to challenges imposed by dietary restrictions in Brazil
Combining science and traditional knowledge, study fronts in Architecture, urbanism and other areas advance in the search for solutions for constructions and basic plans against historical problems in the region
To survey all sorts of forest life, scientists developed techniques, methodologies and new technologies, increasingly digital ones, to enhance data about known living beings on the planet.
Liberal Amazon: Ciência aperta passo para catalogar a biodiversidade
Para saber o que há de vida dentro de florestas, cientistas desenvolveram técnicas, metodologias e novas tecnologias, cada vez mais digitais, para aumentar a lista dos seres vivos conhecidos no planeta.
After years of negotiations with communities located in the railway's influence zones, the final design promises to get off the ground and boost exports of mineral and agribusiness products from the region to the world, connecting the south of Pará to the closest port to the States United States, Europe and Asia
Exercise with 300 US military personnel and another 1,200 from the Brazilian Army across two states in northern Brazil reaffirms the importance of the forest in relations between the two countries and signals possible joint troop operations in the region.
Uma peculiar aliança da natureza volta a ganhar atenção e vem transformando a produção do açaí na Amazônia: a presença de abelhas nas áreas onde açaizais se multiplicam vem garantindo até 40% a mais em produtividade -, o que demonstra a força da economia da floresta em pé e da sua sustentabilidade, quando se garante a atenção às riquezas das relações da biodiversidade e às caraterísticas dos ciclos do bioma amazônico.
O açaí está no auge de sua popularidade mundial. Não faltam compradores e os produtores, ano após ano, vêm sendo desafiados a buscar técnicas e alternativas para garantir cada vez mais ganhos às safras. No Pará, estado responsável por mais de 90% da produção do Brasil, mais de 1,5 milhão de toneladas foram produzidas apenas 2022, estimam dados do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). É nesse contexto que pesquisadores da Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) vêm desempenhando um importante papel, ao incentivarem produtores a conciliar a criação de abelhas ao plantio e colheitas nos açaizais. E a atenção maior vem sendo dada às espécies sem ferrão.
The implementation of the carbon credit market in the Amazon has become the target of recent debates and criticism. The system, which repays those who reduce the release of gases responsible for the greenhouse effect, allows compensation for companies and other actors that try to reduce their emissions footprints. This model has gained strength after the emergence of climate agreements, signed since the 1990s, to reduce CO2 emissions, and emerged as an alternative for countries which have a greater share in these taxes. However, researchers have been pointing out signs that this mechanism presents major gaps and problems. In addition to the race for untouched areas of the Amazon forest, in search of maintaining financial power and foreign geopolitical control, the alternative is not producing apparent environmental results, scholars point out. And this movement, made up of million-dollar promises and contracts, also affects traditional populations in the region.
Reporter: Camila Azevedo
Images: Marx Vasconcelos
For a long time, producing scientific knowledge about the Amazon meant consuming content from other parts of Brazil and the world. From researches to solutions to the problems faced in the region, the general interest in debating, analyzing, studying and presenting issues related to the reality experienced by the almost 30 million inhabitants of the biome has not always deserved active listening nor has attention been given to those who make up this scenario – survive in it and reflect upon it. However, for 50 years, a good part of this pondering and awareness about the Amazon has been reflected in the daily work carried out at the Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazônicos (NAEA)[Center for Higher Amazon Studies], linked to the Federal University of Pará (UFPA).
Research guarantees that there are no coral reefs on the Amazon coast as environmentalists maintain
Trees are essential to maintain human life on Earth. The first reason is that they sequester carbon through photosynthesis, an increasingly important asset in times of climate change. Furthermore, forests are shelters of biodiversity, especially fruits, leaves, roots and animals. And, finally, trees generate income, whether through tucumã seeds, which turns into moisturizers and perfumes, or through the bioeconomy, by which families harvest nuts to sell in urban centers, for example. It is no surprise that the interest in planting trees in degraded areas is only increasing in the Amazon. It is called reforestation, a task that is not easy, as it involves recognizing areas which were degraded or previously used for pasture and studying plant species and seeds capable of developing in the region's soil
Mitigating the negative impacts of solid waste and preventing it from simply becoming "garbage" is crucial throughout the world, but in the Amazon, this awareness becomes even more important. After all, the Amazon is an ecosystem where rivers and springs, coastlines, mangroves, groundwater and countless animals and forest areas pulsate. In other words, this environment is definitely not conducive to the proliferation of plastics or metals without correct disposal, a practice that is still very common, especially in urban centers and metropolitan regions. The solution is recycling – a market that raised R$4 billion in the plastics sector alone in 2022, but also lost R$5.7 billion due to the lack of correct management of discarded waste.
"Círios", the song written by Marco Aurélio and Vital Lima, refers, in the plural, to the many “October months” experienced by people from Pará, not only in the capital. However, in an expanded interpretation, it could be a reminder of the plurality of feelings inspired by the Mother of Jesus throughout Pará, with celebrations that, even holding similarities, preserve unique peculiarities. And, in fact, there are many Círios. Belém is not the only place where devotees of the “Patron Saint of Pará” take part in “Círios” organized by the Catholic Church. Celebrations spread over several inner municipalities in the state all year long.
Regardless of how it is called – tortoise, iaçá or tracajá –, the chelonians of the Amazon have always caught the world's attention due to the high degree of species diversity, with different appearances and behaviors, as well as for the profusion of animals on the region's beaches and rivers. And riverside communities are agents of protection for chelonians and conservation of species threatened with extinction.
There is one ecosystem in the Amazon where the pressure of deforestation cannot prevail: mangroves, which play a strong role in the socio-economic sustainability of riverside communities, as well as in the extraction of subsistence resources from the consumption of fish and crabs. A study carried out by the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the Federal Rural University of the Amazon (Ufra) and the Vale Institute of Technology (ITV) found that less than 1% of the region's mangroves have been impacted by human interventions such as urban expansion and road construction.
In addition to the forests and rivers that make up the region's most characteristic scenery, the Brazilian Amazon has vast options of landscapes and destinations that enchant, such as
dunes, mangroves and the coastal seashore. But it's not just the beauty that attracts tourists, but also the opportunity to experience the different lifestyles of the people.This is the proposal put forward by Community-Based Tourism (CBT), our subject today.
Used to protect crops from the destructive effects of insects, larvae, fungi and ticks, pesticides are synthetic chemical health-detrimental products, which silently become part of most Brazilians’ everyday life. In a country that shows its strong agricultural vocation through impressive numbers in the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculation, pesticides are increasingly more closely studied. And the magnifying glass is over the Amazon this time. The region which historically had not been focused on agricultural activities, has seen the numbers of pastures for livestock and areas for agricultural crops increase in recent decades at an unexpected high speed.
"Amazon Day" will be celebrated this Tuesday (September 5). The date reinforces the importance of defining paths for the future of the planet's most important biome. With a territorial extension almost eight times the size of France, the Brazilian Amazon occupies almost 60% of the national territory and is home to a multitude of people, plants and animals. The biome is increasingly in the spotlight of global discussions, but what do the different economic sectors think about the priorities for the region's development? You can understand more about it in this week's Liberal Amazon report.
Sharing knowledge is one of the keys for the Pan-Amazon region to combat climate change. That's why the eight countries that share the biome (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela) have decided to formalize international cooperation to protect the region's fauna, flora, water resources and inhabitants. Led by Brazil, the nations that integrate the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) will share technologies and knowledge. One of the novelties is the creation of the so-called Amazon IPCC, a panel that will gather scientific information from the region to generate reports that will help in political decision-making.
Put in the limelight on the socio-environmental agenda, the Amazon region should be one of the most debated topics at the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 28, to be held between November 30th and December 12th, this year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The countries that share the Amazon biome (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela) are expected to present a joint position to the other heads of state.
Due to the absence of a zero deforestation goal and the lack of in-depth discussions regarding oil exploration in the region, the results of the "Amazon Summit", which ended on the 9th, were evaluated as below expectations by experts on environmental issues and civil society. The "Belem Declaration", a document that resulted from the meeting of representatives of eight South American countries, has 113 paragraphs dealing with issues such as science, innovation, water management, climate change, forest protection, indigenous peoples and combating environmental crimes.
Representatives of the eight member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization are meeting in Belém on the 8th and 9th for the Amazon Summit. The meeting is expected to result in the signing of the Belém Declaration, a 130-paragraph agreement between the countries that should start a joint journey towards the next United Nations Climate Conference, which will take place at the end of 2023 in Dubai. Among the main themes of the document are the fight against deforestation, illegal mining and organized crime, as well as sustainable income generation in the region.
You might not have heard about it yet, but the fruit – golosa – shows a trend of increasing popularity. It is one more option in the richly varied menu of Amazonian fruits that, little by little, is being discovered by the people of the region. The fruit is already highly sought-after in the southwest of Pará, especially in the municipality of São Félix do Xingu.
The concept of ecofeminism emerged amid the boiling environmental movement in the 1970s, with the term 'ecological feminism' appearing in the work 'Feminism or Death' by French philosopher and writer Françoise D'Eaubonne. Today, according to data from the United Nations (UN), 80% of people displaced by environmental disasters and climate change-related problems are women.
The Manaus Industrial Pole is home to around 600 industries, is responsible for 108,373 workers employed and for a turnover of R$174.1 billion by companies that are part of the financial and tax incentive program, according to data consolidated in 2022 by the Superintendence of the Manaus Free Trade Zone.This is an increase of 6.84% over the previous year's turnover. The number of jobs increased by 3.67% in the same period. The volume of exports was US$ 583.63 million, 29.08% higher than in 2021.
The pests and diseases that affect plantations in the Amazon should not be underestimated. Losses of 70% of açaí seedlings cultivated in nurseries due to anthracnose have already been identified. In the municipality of Tomé-Açu, in the northeast of the State of Pará, there is an example of the so-called “progressive death”, which affected 50% of the cupuaçu clones in the field. These numbers are closely observed by researchers who study the subject and produce a warning signal for more investments in research that promote solutions to combat pests and diseases in the Amazon rainforest.
The fact that it is a diverse biome makes the Amazon region home to many "Amazons," with portions that differ from one another due to their own characteristics. The trees in the southern belt of the Amazon ecosystem, for example, are more vulnerable to drought and therefore more likely to die. The conclusion is from a study signed by 80 researchers from Brazilian and foreign scientific institutions. The advance of drought possibilities in the Amazon, a region with an equatorial climate and plenty of rainfall, has its origin in human interference in the environment, especially because of fires and deforestation, which change the configuration of the soil
A matéria-prima símbolo da economia da região na virada do século XIX para o século XX ergueu palácios e teatros no Norte do Brasil, com a riqueza concentrada nas mãos de uma elite que explorava seringueiros por meio da escravidão por dívidas, conhecida como “sistema de aviamento”. Hoje, o cenário é outro: os seringueiros extraem látex com o conhecimento adquirido de pais e avós e são remunerados, transformando o produto em calçados, artigos de decoração e biojoias.
New rubber cycle generates employment and income in the Amazon
The raw material that was the symbol of the region's economy at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century built palaces and theaters in Northern Brazil, with wealth concentrated in the hands of an elite that exploited rubber tappers through debt slavery, known as the "indentured servitude system". Today, the scenario is different: the rubber tappers extract latex with the knowledge acquired from their parents and grandparents and are paid, transforming the product into footwear, decorative items, and bio-jewelry.
In the first quarter of the year, more than 103million tons of cargo went through the 83 ports in operation in the Amazon. Ofthis total, 78.5% refers to regional shipped products. The commodity dominatingthe statistics is iron ore, which accounts for 41% of everything that goes intothe ships and sail from the Amazon towards different parts of the world. Stillon the list, are soy (24.9%), bauxite (9.3%), oil and derivatives (6%) and corn(4%), according to data from the National Waterway Transport Agency. The region has a central role in the transport of goods, but new port complexes can generate negative social and environmental impacts
Today's subject is the Paru Forest and it’s giant trees located between the states of Pará ANS Amapá, In Brazil. We also discuss the role the Sahara desert plays In the Amazon region and the wood wide web.
Today's subject is Amazonian literature, rich in diversity and great authors. In the complete article, at liberalamazon.com, you can check out a timeline of the region's literary creation, with great authors and works.
The fifth generation of mobile connection, 5G, promises to be the next big step in technology based on the flow of information, with faster speed and reduced signal fluctuations for internet access.
If, on the one hand, it is unquestionable that the speed can be 100 times greater than the current 4G internet connection, the uncertainty that still looms concerns the extent to which this technology will be available on a large scale in locations of low interest to telephone operators and with fragile infrastructure. This is the case for most of the Legal Amazon.
Despite its prohibition in Brazil, the illegal commercialization of mercury continues to pose risks to human health throughout the national territory.
In the Amazon, however, this problem is aggravated by the expansion of predatory mining activities in recent years.
Indigenous people suffer from lack of food and water in the Amazon, one of the two richest world biomes in biodiversity. What seems contradictory is, in fact, the result of the rampant progress of criminal organizations and the absence of public policies for these populations.
In this week's Liberal Amazon, you will learn more about the humanitarian crisis in Roraima and the hunger that also affects other indigenous peoples in the Amazon. You will also get a better understanding of how all this is related to the spread of illegal mining and other criminal networks in the region.
Go to www.liberalamazon.com and learn more.
After four years of disruption in the process of receiving international resources, the Amazon Fund is back and at the center of the global debate on responsible preservation and production. Now, the Brazilian Federal Government has announced the resumption of the transfer of resources and the expected expansion in the number of funding countries, currently restricted to Norway and Germany.
The demands of the region are high ranging from the incentive to income generation projects and actions to fight inequality to firm actions against deforestation, fires, and illegal mining. In other words, expectations for the resumption of the Amazon Fund are high too.
Check out everything about the expectation for the return of the Amazon Fund in our report of the week.
Visit www.liberalamazon.com and learn more.
Perfumes are not just scents. They are also memories and feelings that linger in the imagination of those who open their hearts to feel them. These are memories that are replicated on a large scale throughout Brazil, in a market that grew by 8.6% in the international trade flow, between January and October 2022, compared to the same period of the previous year.
However, the cosmetics market in the northern states of Brazil, where most part of the Legal Amazon is located, still is quite small: there are only 66 companies, according to the Brazilian Association of Personal Hygiene, Perfumery and Cosmetics Industry.
In this week's Liberal Amazon you learn more about it and also find out stories of people and their relationship with the powerful Amazon aromas.
Check out www.liberalamazon.com and know more about it.
Have you ever thought of leaving behind the life you lead today and spending your time traveling, meeting different people and places?
In this week's Liberal Amazon you will meet people from their 20s and early 60s who, whether for leisure or business, do not give up traveling and talk about their adventures on the rivers, skies and roads of the region. Wherever they go, these travelers collect stories and memories of unforgettable places.
Check out www.liberalamazon.com and get a ride with them and their expeditions through the Amazon.
An Amazon native fruit, cupuaçu is known for its acidic, concentrated flavor, which gives rise to typical delicacies of the region such as juice, ice cream and sweets. But, in addition to the custom of the local population, there are several potentials yet to be explored - one of them is the cupulate, a product similar to traditional chocolate.
Likewise the products made from cocoa, the cupulate can be produced both in the form of a bar or drink, and one aspect that make this possible is that cupuaçu belongs to the same genus as cocoa.
However, although it is a creamier and caffeine-free alternative to traditional chocolate, the cupulate faces the lack of industrial processes that enable its greater commercial production.
Find out more information on www.liberalamazon.com
The Amazon is the Brazilian biome with the largest number of animal species, home to 73% of mammal species and 80% of bird species in the country, according to the Ministry of the Environment. Due to the fact that many cities are surrounded by forests and rivers and the growth of these areas evolve disorderly, occasionally, wild animals end up invading the urban space, bringing risks both to their own health and to that of humans. The responsibility for rescuing these animals is shared between the municipal, state and federal spheres. In this week's Liberal Amazon article you will find out more information about how biologists, veterinarians and other professionals are dedicated to rescuing, protecting and trying to provide safety and quality of life to forest animals that are impacted by the advance of human presence. So go to www.liberalamazon.com and read more about it.
The Brazilian maritime territory stretches over 8,000 km long of coastal extension and is known as the “Blue Amazon”, a name created by the Navy in order to emphasize the importance of this area in terms of biodiversity, size and economic role for the country. What many people are unaware of is that almost 38% of this total area is, in fact, within the Amazon: around 3,000 km.
The coastline of the Amazon extends from the Oiapoque River, in Amapá, to São Marcos Island, in Maranhão, and in this territory are located the largest and most preserved mangroves in the world, according to information from Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG).
In this week's Liberal Amazon article you will find out more information about the richness, diversity, economic potential and challenges of the Amazon coastline.
So go to www.liberalamazon.com and read more about it.
Whether by the river or the sea, patients need to overcome obstacles such as long distances, financial costs and difficult access to diagnosis and treatment in the region. In this week's Liberal Amazon article, you will learn the story of Edna Silva, 42 years old, who, despite having very sensitive skin to the sunlight and sand, has chosen to spend her life on Ilha dos Lençóis, in Maranhão (MA), where she was born. She is one of seven albino people living in this small community, which shows a proportion well above the world average of one in up to 20,000 people, according to the United Nations (UN).
And you will also find out more about João Pereira, 4 years old, from the Marajó Archipelago (Pará), diagnosed with epidermolysis bullosa. The disease is hereditary and causes the formation of blisters on the skin when minimal friction or trauma occurs.
Learn more on www.liberalamazon.com.
Hansen’s disease, currently, is considered rare in Brazil. Even so, the Amazon remains the region where most cases are registered: in 2021, cases within the region represented 41% of the country's sum, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
According to World Health Organization, in 2020, out of more than 19,000 cases registered in the Americas circumscription, almost 94% were in Brazil. The country also ranks second among the ones with the highest number of cases in the world, being supplanted only by India.
When talking about Hansen’s disease, the history is marked by discrimination and social segregation. In this week's Liberal Amazon article, you can find out more information and stories about Hansen’s disease. Learn more on www.liberalamazon.com.
The Amazon forest is the largest rainforest in the world, home to a rich biodiversity of fauna and flora. With such exuberance, it is not surprising that the region attracts people from different parts of the country to study and protect its biodiversity. In this week's Liberal Amazon article, you will learn about the stories of professionals who arrived, fell in love with and adjusted their lives to research and help conserve the fauna and flora of the Amazon. We also talked to local experts, who highlighted the importance of collaboration with professionals from other regions and even countries, always respecting the Amazon and its inhabitants. Learn more on www.liberalamazon.com.
When discussing the environment, the most frequent topics that emerge are combating deforestation and restoring forests. But there is a usually overlooked aspect which happened to be very vivid, this year, at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 27): regenerative agriculture, which defends a way of producing whilst recovering the land and the environment.
In regenerative agriculture, soil health care is a priority, as much as the promotion of biodiversity and the quality of the food produced. The good news is that it has already been applied in the Brazilian Amazon, although it needs to be expanded.
Know more about it by accessing our website: www.liberalamazon.com
From the Amazon rainforest to the desert, the 18-year-old indigenous woman Tainara Kambeba traveled four hours by boat and 2 and a half days including flights and stopovers to bring her experience and ideas about the environment from her home near Manaus (AM) to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Likewise, many young people took up the spaces and were protagonists in the discussions at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 27, held until November 18. COP 27 annually brings together representatives from several countries to seek solutions and sign agreements to overcome environmental problems. This year, young people were highlighted with unprecedented opportunities: they had a pavilion of their own, an even bigger one than the pavilions of many national delegations at the event. Know more about amazonian youth participation at COP 27 by accessing our website: www.liberalamazon.com
In the coming days, the eyes of the world will be on Brazil, especially turned towards the Amazon. Governors of the Interstate Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Legal Amazon will arrive in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to attend the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 27), accompanied by the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. This is Lula's first international trip after the election results and his participation has been awaited by leaders from all over the world.
This is also the first time that the Consortium will have an independent stand from that of the official delegation of the federal government during the conference, which is the world's largest forum for climate discussion. For Amazon, the meeting should represent an opportunity to establish partnerships and raise investments to strengthen the preservation of the environment.
Know more about the the expectations for the Brazilian participation in the final week of COP 27 by accessing our website: www.liberalamazon.com.
Amazon emerges solidly in the speeches of Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, in his first address to the nation, after being elected the next president of Brazil, on October 30th. On several occasions, Lula referred to the Amazon as one of the priorities in his presidential term, stressing that “Brazil and the planet need a living Amazon”.
After the presidential election outcome, leaders from different countries expressed interest in collaborating with Brazil, under Lula’s direction. Internal national scenario, however, points to many challenges towards the consolidation of the commitments undertaken in the campaign.
Know more about the prospects for Amazon as of January 2023 by accessing our website: www.liberalamazon.com
Supported by: @valenobrasil
Mosquitoes, bees and insects, in general, are part of the reality of those who live in the Amazon, even in urban centers. For some people, they can be considered a burden and, for many others, they can simply go unnoticed.
However, insects play a key role in preserving biodiversity in the region, as they are responsible for spreading nutrients and seeds in the forest, allowing more plants to grow, in addition to decomposing organic matter and serving as food for other animals. According to José Albertino Rafael – a researcher at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) [National Institute for Research in the Amazon], 70% of the species of animals that exist in nature all over the planet are insects.
Access at www.liberalamazon.com
Support: @valenobrasil
Located in the southeast of the state of Pará, Parauapebas is a municipality that emerged and expanded based on mining activity. Parauapebas is where Serra Norte dos Carajás is located – the largest mineralogical province in the world. However, given the estimate that mineral resources will run out in approximately 16 years, the municipality has sought to develop an alternative economic matrix, focusing on the tourist sector, as a way to continue developing and creating employment opportunities and income alternatives for the population. The idea is to invest in ecological tourism routes, with the implementation of spaces that can attract visitors interested both in exploring natural beauties and in adventure tourism.
Access liberalamazon.com to read the whole news.
On Sunday, October 9, Círio de Nazaré will fill up the streets of Belém, in Pará, in its 230th edition. It is the most expected of all Círios. It draws the attention of Brazil and of the World, gathering more than two million people going on a pilgrimage with so intense energy that it cannot be unnoticed even by people from other religions and cultures.
But, It is not by chance that Our Lady of Nazareth is known as the Queen of the Amazon. Of the nine states in the Legal Amazon, only Mato Grosso does not have a Círio. In most states, the processions even coincide with those in the capital of Pará, with many tributes in common, but also with many particularities, which give a special and completely distinct tone to the eyes of those who, until then, only associated the Círio with the original and most traditional procession in Belém.
So go to liberalamazon.com and learn more about all the Círios de Nazaré from the Amazon.
Sunday, October 2nd, is the day when more than 156 million Brazilians have, in their hands, the right to choose the politicians who will lead and decide the course of the country and the states of the federation from January 1, 2023 by means of a vote. According to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), 156,454,011 people are eligible to vote in this ballot, a number that is 6.21% higher compared with the 2018 election. Twenty million voters, out of this total, represent the electorate of the nine states that make up the Legal Amazon.
For two times throughout this year, the Liberal Group, from Pará, opened space for the main candidates for the presidency of the Republic to present their views and plans for the Amazon region.
Find out what they think about and promise by accessing our website: www.liberalamazon.com
Forest suffers from constant high temperatures, prolonged dry season and rampant fires. Situation worsens in the south of the Amazon region and threatens the entire ecological balance. In forest and cities it is increasingly difficult to breathe.
Earlier this month, an article in the scientific publication Nature confirmed what Brazilian researchers have already been warning: the humidity of the Amazon rainforest is decreasing while there is an increase in the dryness of the air in the region. The study is signed by researchers from the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom, and it has identified that these changes are related to temperature shifts, which are progressively higher due to the advance and persistence of fires in the biome.
Learn more on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
Photo by Bruno Kelly - Amazônia Real
Internationally known, açaí is a fruit with rich nutritional values, such as vitamins, antioxidants, fats and proteins. Consumed as food both outside and inside Brazil, the plant extraction in the country is entirely concentrated on the açaí plantations within the Legal Amazon area, which totaled more than 220,000 tons in 2020, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
In addition to being part of the food culture in the Northern region, açaí serves as a source of income for many families, from extractivism to pulp sales points in cities. Given its importance, scientists have discovered other possibilities to take more advantages of the fruit versatility, with potential to be turned into other products for the food industry, such as powder, oil, animal feed, as well as production of some kind of paper and even use applied to generate bioenergy.
Learn more on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
In October 2022, Brazil will hold elections for the President of the Republic, governors, senators, as well as for federal and state parliamentarians. Since 1996, the electoral process has been computerized in Brazil, using electronic voting booths and satellites, among other equipment, for guaranteeing greater agility and transparency in the process, in addition, the result is disclosed in a few hours later.
In the Amazon region, despite the automation and technological advancement of the electoral process, there are still many communities with little or nonexistent internet access. Therefore, residents in large urban centers more easily gather information, consequently, they have more possibilities when they choose their candidates. In this scenario, what are the strategies adopted by the population of remote areas from the capitals, in order to obtain information about the electoral process? For many of them, information is only received through traditional channels, such as radio and satellite TVs, or in conversations with community leaders.
Read the full report on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
September 5th is officially Amazon Day. With a territorial extension almost eight times larger than France, Legal Amazon is always a challenge to those who travel through it. By land, most roads are in a precarious condition; by rivers and rails, the potential of these modes of transport is underused. Therefore, air transport is, in many cases, a solution for public authorities to reach isolated communities and for the transport of products and services.
But flying over the Amazon is also a big challenge. Long distances, dense forest, lack of airstrips are some of the characteristics that require courage and experience from teams working in the region.
Check out, in this last article of the series on the challenges and potentials of logistics and transport in the Amazon, the stories and information about air transport in the region.
Read the full report on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
Brazil uses only about 30% of its total waterway potential of approximately 64 thousand km, for economic purposes. It means to say, just over 19,000 km are used – 81% of which (15,500 km) corresponds the Amazon rivers hydric routes. The survey was carried out by National Transport Confederation (CNT), based on data from National Waterway Transport Agency (Antaq).
For this potential to be better exploited, CNT and Antaq point out that it is necessary to invest in signaling, expansion of ports and improvement of infrastructure of waterway terminals, among other measures. Integration of modes may facilitate the flow of production in the Amazon, but railways are still poorly explored in the region.
This is the second theme of the Liberal Amazon series on logistics challenges for transportation in the region, presenting, in three editions, the challenges and potentials faced by each modal.
To know more, read the full report on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
The North region, which concentrates seven of the nine states constituting the Amazon, has the worst road network in the country. Almost 80% of its roads are in regular, bad or extremely bad condition, according to the 2021 Road Survey, promoted by National Transport Confederation (CNT). This percentage alerts to a regional reality that brings several problems to the Amazonian development.
According to the CNT survey, Maranhão and Mato Grosso, states from other regions which integrate the Brazilian Amazon also share the need for urgent investments.
Highways are the first theme of the Liberal Amazon series on logistics challenges for transportation in the region, presenting, in three editions, the challenges and potentials faced by each modal.
To know more about the highways, read the full report on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
As of January 1st, 2023, the president-elect of Brazil will be able to count on a condensation of the expectations of traditional peoples from the different countries where the Amazon territory spreads across. The president shall receive the Pan-Amazon Declaration of Belém, launched after the Pan-Amazon Social Forum, which brought together people from the nine Pan-Amazon countries (Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname), at the end of July, 2022 in Belém (PA).
The declaration places special emphasis on the impairing obstacles faced by traditional communities and perspectives for a better future according to the vision of indigenous peoples, quilombolas, riverine people, black people and defenders of human rights and nature. It shall be presented also to the President of Colombia – Gustavo Petro – who was elected in June this year and will take office in January 2023.
Read the full content at www.liberalamazon.com
Support: @valenobrasil
DEFORESTATION
Of the five Brazilian states which deforested the most along 2021, four of them are located in the Amazon: Pará, Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Maranhão. The region is responsible for the felling of about 18 trees per second and the states occupying the first and second positions in the rank of destruction are, respectively, Pará and Amazonas.
These are data from the Annual Deforestation Report, published by MapBiomas, a collaborative network formed by NGOs, universities and technology startups. The report analyses, consolidates and validates all deforestation warnings in Brazil, identified by monitoring systems.
To learn more about the deforestation in Amazon, read the full report on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
The state of Pará is responsible for 95% of local, national and international commercialization of açaí, in an expanding market. However, a scientific study revealed that the bet on monoculture to try to meet this high demand leaves impacts on the wetlands forest
To better guide producers on the sustainable cultivation of açaí, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), develops in Marajó Island (Pará), a project that seeks to strengthen the production chain by preserving the wetlands forest, despite the growing market pressure for the açaí.
To learn more about the impacts of açaí monoculture, management technology and the Marajó initiative, read the full report on our website: www.liberalamazon.com
Group from the Federal University of Western Pará already obtained the invention patent of the product -which is vegan-, and also includes in it's formula bacuri stone, seeds of murumuru and tapioca starch. The next step is to draw industry interest in investing in it.
Cocaine seizures in the Brazilian Legal Amazon, between 2011 and 2021, figure 73% higher than the total amount of drug apprehension in the previous decade. Data disclosed by the Federal Police indicate more intense transportation of drugs, as well as frequent inspection and combat to international trafficking in the region.
In this episode, Cinthia Gatti and Victor Furtado talk about the different cultural manifestations and the art expressions that result from diverse connections in the Amazon.
This week, Liberal Amazon talks about the rise in the açaí prices and How the international demand for the fruit affects local consumers in Pará.
A survey by Redação Integrada de O Liberal [O Liberal Integrated Newsroom] with collected data from Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE) [Superior Electoral Court] shows that only 5.08% of congressmen in office within the states that constitute the Legal Amazon are black. Such number potentializes the history of racism and racial discrimination of a country that has always denied the color of its people. By Cinthia Gatti and Victor Furtado.
The region faces the challenge of reconciling development with improving the quality of life of its peoples, according to politicians, scholars and government officials heard by O LIBERAL
The tourism and buffalos can help this peculiar region of the planet in winning historical social and economical challenges. Journalists Cinthia Gatti and Eduardo Laviano comment on the theme
"Management, when done correctly, helps to maintain the forest, in capturing carbon and even speeding up the regeneration process", says expert.