Author: Augusto Correa
Published by Page 22 – The Economy has basically sustained life since its beginnings. Hunting itself, one of the first actions for human survival, is an economic activity, since it can be divided or simply exchanged between peers. The expression originates from the Greek oikos, which means “house, home, domicile, environment”. The Economy therefore comes before money and represents the set of activities developed by human beings, aiming at the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services necessary for survival and quality of life.
Biology is the science that studies life and living organisms, their structure, growth, functioning, reproduction, origin, evolution and distribution, as well as their relationships with the environment and with each other.
These areas of knowledge, separated here, at some point stopped being related, since the use of the term Bioeconomy is not so common. However, based on formal reflections and conceptualizations, it is understood that the Economy was born as a Bioeconomy and it seems that the answer lies in the increase in the need for goods and consumption and the manufacturing necessary for this. This occurs mainly after the Industrial Revolution, when there was a great industrialization in the modes of production, resulting, among other things, in the emergence of agriculture and livestock farming.
Economic development then begins to operate beyond the provision of survival and well-being for different needs, according to the technological development of each historical period, and it is in this context of development that the Market Economy emerges.
With its positive and negative aspects, the Market Economy has played a strong role in creating new demands and, even without the intention of making any ethical or moral judgments here, it has had a strong impact on the environment.
Despite the obvious need to combat the effects caused by neglect of the environment, the existence of the Market Economy – the pillar that sustains survival and quality of life – will be compromised if it does not become cyclical, that is, based on sustainability. This will only be possible if there is an understanding of what the Bioeconomy should achieve: status perennial academic of Bioeconomic Sciences and the training of Bioeconomists.
The Bioeconomy, therefore, strongly includes human beings in their relationship with nature and the environment. Furthermore, this involves adapting to nature or modifying it for their habitat, in order to always be able to extract knowledge from the way it operates. The benefits obtained through research into plant and animal biodiversity and the preserved Amazon offer us the opportunity to see it as an asset in the Market Economy: the standing forest is a commodity.
Here we can mention the highly valued markets for carbon credits, açaí, nuts and fish, to start with. Thus, obviously, the application of a Bioeconomy prioritizes the preservation and sustainability of forests and agriculture itself. However, in the urban environment, its essentiality also prevails and adds value, with regard to basic sanitation, water supply, paving methods, water drainage and other services, including health and education. Therefore, trying to allocate investments to some of these categories to generate bioeconomic assets adds value, especially with regard to social well-being.
In this way, if the Bioeconomy becomes an accepted and widely implemented thesis, it is possible to decree the end of environmental degradation.
Furthermore, the concept of Bioeconomy is of relevant interest for the Amazon and for the context of businesses with socio-environmental impact, since these develop economic alternatives that make it possible to “keep the forest standing”. Thus, they provide the agents involved with employment and income opportunities, equivalent to or greater than the opportunity cost associated with deforestation, and moving towards models that allow for addressing the economic, social and environmental challenges in an integrated manner in the region.
The Bioeconomy, therefore, can contribute in a central way to the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable development of important biomes such as the Amazon. This is the hypothesis defended by the study “Acceleration Thesis”, launched by the Partners for the Amazon Platform (PPA), in partnership with the impact accelerator Quintessa, in its recent institutional campaign, Paths to the Amazon.
The document aims to structure the multiple possibilities for action, under the umbrella of a major strategy for accelerating businesses with a positive socio-environmental impact, functioning as a menu of possibilities for supporting different types and stages of businesses in the region.
The PPA, as a platform for collective action in the private sector, strengthens its value proposition with the launch of the study, which establishes clear guidelines for action in the territory and the formation of robust partnerships, with securely shared benefits, in favor of the Amazon.
As a next step, the PPA Acceleration Thesis aims to contribute to the production of knowledge on the topic and on the Amazonian reality. The proposal consists of mobilizing stakeholders and expanding discussions, thematic dialogues and value connections. More than that, it represents a public return for all organizations that contributed, in a strategic and collaborative way, to its realization.
This work creates the conditions for several acceleration programs to be designed, launched and implemented, together with implementing and financing organizations, reinforcing the vision of the PPA as a platform for leveraging opportunities and the role of the private sector in the conservation of Amazonian sociobiodiversity.
*Augusto Corrêa has been the executive secretary of the Partners for the Amazon Platform (PPA) since April 2020. Graduated from the University of São Paulo in 2014, he completed the Executive MBA program in Digital Innovation and Sustainability at the same institution, in addition to having participated in several specialization courses.