Sustainability in the forest depends on companies’ actions


Concerns with the expansion of the Amazon frontier, marked by natural resources degradation, violence and fast, but not sustainable, economic development, were addressed in the workshop “Contribution of Companies to the Sustainability of the Amazon”, held at the 2008 Ethos International Conference. From three theme questions raised by the organizers, groups of representatives of some of the most important companies in Brazil got together to propose solutions and actions in several fronts for the region’s sustainability.

In the “Management and Innovation” theme, actions for the companies operating in the region were suggested, such as policies and specific legislation aimed both at protection and encouragement of sustainable practices. A group of journalists participating in the workshop stressed the need to use information technologies as tools to integrate the Amazon and the rest of Brazil to reduce the effects of the region’s isolation.

As for the “Land Regulation, Infra-structure and Logistics” theme, ideas given included community regulation, with councils formed by surrounding communities with autonomy to approve land trade. Restraints on land purchase by foreigners were also discussed, as well as ideas such as participatory budget, municipalities integration, public-private partnerships and, again, aspects related to communication between the region and the rest of the country.

Finally, in the “Market and Funding” discussion, the need for investing in local capacities became evident, strengthened by the enhancement of infrastructure and new technologies. Another relevant issue in the discussion was the need to create a label to allow the consumer to know a product comes from the Legal Amazon, taking into account the entire production chain and materials used. Liaison with existing distribution networks was mentioned as a facilitator to reach large scale sales. The proposals and suggestions presented in this and all other workshops of the conference will be available for reference on the Ethos Institute website.

Source: Ethos Institute

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