This blog is part of a series exploring the insights, key themes, and approaches that drive NESsT’s publication ‘Unlocking the Potential of the Global Financing Ecosystem to Invest in a Sustainable Bioeconomy in the Amazon from the Perspective of Local Communities’. Informed by Amazonian voices and conversations with the global financing community, the report identifies nine recommendations across two key areas for impact-focused public and private investors to improve the targeting, efficacy, and efficiency of their funding to the Amazon bioeconomy. Through this ten-part series, we aim to bring these opportunities into broader conversations and diverse discussion spaces, amplifying the reach of Amazonian communities and their voices, experiences, and solutions.
““We don’t deforest; instead, we take resources from the forest in a way that keeps it standing, avoiding pollution and destruction.” ”
For centuries, Indigenous Peoples have lived in harmony with nature, embodying a philosophy of coexistence, stewardship, and sustainability. This way of life not only ensures the well-being of forests but also provides a powerful blueprint for an economy that thrives while protecting the environment.
Over the past decade, the Amazon bioeconomy has emerged as a cornerstone of sustainable development, with international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Paris Agreement highlighting its potential to address global sustainability challenges through fairly compensating efforts to protect and sustain natural ecosystems.
However, NESsT’s recent study and extensive research identifies that the term ‘bioeconomy’ is often broadly interpreted by bioeconomy funders and global policymakers, sometimes straying far from this vision of environmental stewardship. As global public and private investors increasingly depend on clear definitions of the bioeconomy to guide their investment decisions around sustainable development, it becomes crucial to ensure these definitions are inclusive, coherent, and aligned with Indigenous principles.
Photos: In August 2024, NESsT conducted a knowledge exchange with ABEX, during which NESsT portfolio managers conducted interviews with ABEX members to better understand their perspective, expectations, and vision of the bioeconomy
“For the bioeconomy to reach its full potential as a sustainable economic model – one that safeguards ecosystems, respects traditional wisdom, and upholds the rights of those who depend on the land – it must be rooted in a definition that integrates Indigenous cosmologies and acknowledges the symbiotic relationship between local communities and their environments.”
The Spectrum of Bioeconomy Definitions
While countries and organizations around the world are developing frameworks to guide bioeconomy strategies, these approaches differ widely based on their priorities and resources. For example, Brazil, home to over 60% of the Amazon biome, has recently formed a National Bioeconomy Commission to establish a comprehensive development plan, drawing on principles introduced during its G20 presidency that emphasize equity and sustainability.
Colombia, on the other hand, has actively engaged with civil society organizations to create conditions that support community-led bioeconomy initiatives. Costa Rica has adopted a framework focused on the production, conservation, and restoration of biological resources across various economic sectors.
Although these national efforts align with broader international frameworks – such as the United Nation’s Convention to Combat Desertification, which promotes sustainable land management – the lack of a unified global definition for the bioeconomy creates challenges for collaboration. What’s more, without a clear, shared understanding, critical voices, especially those of Indigenous communities, remain unheard.
Centering Indigenous Voices in the Bioeconomy: NESsT’s Interviews with ABEX
In interviews with Indigenous leaders and entrepreneurs as part of NESsT’s publication and ongoing efforts to deepen our understanding of forest-based enterprises, the bioeconomy emerges not just as an economic model, but as a way of life rooted deeply in ancestral tradition.
One of the enterprises we interviewed was Associação Bebô Xikrin do Bacajá (ABEX) – an Indigenous-led association that has developed and grown sustainable value chains for babassu (Attalea speciosa) oil and hand-painted crafts, among others, integrating ancestral knowledge with modern market demands.
“Everything we take from the forest is used to make things, to sell, to generate income. It’s how we sustain ourselves, both in the village and beyond.”
Photos: Ngrenhkarati Xikrin of ABEX (left); ABEX member makes babassu oil (right)
Despite their innovative approaches, bioeconomy enterprises led by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) face significant barriers. “We lack knowledge of things from outside. That’s our main difficulty,” Ngrenhkarati Xikrin commented, revealing the importance of bridging the gap between traditional knowledge and modern market opportunities.
These interviews highlight the difficulties of navigating bureaucratic obstacles to accessing financing, identifying that IPLCs continue to grapple with systemic challenges that hinder their participation in the bioeconomy. Moreover, they often find themselves competing against large-scale, monoculture-driven investments that undermine biodiversity and the very principles of sustainability they seek to uphold.
In our study, “Unlocking the Potential of the Global Funding Ecosystem to Invest in a Sustainable Amazon Bioeconomy through the Lens of Local Communities,” several enterprises cited examples where investors overlooked or misidentified actual bioeconomy initiatives, directing funds to unsustainable production. For example, one enterprise shared that some investors they encounter still categorize sugarcane as part of the bioeconomy despite its contribution to soil degradation and deforestation — most of Colombia’s sugarcane is concentrated in the Cauca River valley, where the crop covers more than 225,000 hectares, significantly harming local biodiversity.
To improve the targeting of funding for bioeconomy initiatives, our publication recommends investors support projects and initiatives that center Indigenous voices by collecting information about local bioeconomy enterprises and practices from IPLCs directly.
Reshaping the definition of the bioeconomy: Indigenous entrepreneurs pave the way at global events
In November 2024, Ngrenhkarati Xikrin of ABEX participated in the Amazon Impact Investing and Sustainable Business Festival (FIINSA) in November 2024, in representation of the communities of the Trincheira Bacajá Indigenous Land (TITB) in the Brazilian Amazon. At this global event, the NESsT portfolio entrepreneur shared her first-hand insights on how bioeconomy enterprises like ABEX are creating dignified livelihood opportunities while preserving the forest and its resources.
Photos: ABEX participates in FIINSA alongside NESsT portfolio enterprise Coopaflora and NESsT Amazonia team
Similarly, during events held at the Green Zone, CO16 in Cali, Colombia, NESsT portfolio entrepreneurs shared their experiences leading bioeconomy enterprises in the Amazon, proposing actionable solutions to improve access to bioeconomy financing. It was also at COP16 that various stakeholders – including IPLC-led organizations and NESsT – launched the Pan-Amazon Network for Bioeconomy, marking a significant step toward fostering a bioeconomy deeply rooted in partnership with local communities.
As we look ahead, our work focuses on advocating for a definition of the bioeconomy that embraces collaboration between Indigenous and local communities and the global investing ecosystem. By working together to redefine the bioeconomy through an inclusive lens, we can lay the foundation for a sustainable and just future, not just for the Amazon but for the planet.
You can access NESsT’s study and in-depth recommendations below in English, Portuguese, and Spanish:
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