In the Brazilian Amazon, an Indigenous Bioeconomy Takes Root
In the southern Brazilian Amazon, seed collectors carefully search the forest floor. They move among the trees, mindful not to harm surrounding plants as they bend and crouch to gather native seeds from the soil and fallen fruit.
They are part of the Xingu Seeds Network (ARSX), an association in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso that brings together about 700 Amazonian seed collectors. Launched in 2007 by the Instituto Socioambiental (Socio-Environmental Institute, or ISA) and Indigenous leaders, the network helps locals sell seeds to organizations and landowners, who use them in forest restoration projects.
So far, nearly 1,000 families from more than 100 Indigenous villages and local communities have taken part in the initiative. They have gathered seeds from over 220 species, generated over 8.5 million reais ($1.7 million) in income and contributed to the restoration of 27 million trees on 11,000 hectares of previously degraded land. More than 390 metric tons of native seeds have been sold so far, setting an unprecedented record in the Amazon.
It is a prime example of how an “Indigenous bioeconomy” — developed and sustained by Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities in the Amazon — can provide economic opportunities while also preserving biological, cultural and social diversity.
“[ARSX has] shown Brazil and the world that it is possible to give value to a standing forest,” said Rodrigo Junqueira, executive secretary of ISA. “[It] has demonstrated that it is possible to price seeds and develop an economy around them without excluding people or stakeholders from the process.”
Defining Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups with a history of settlement in the Americas dating back roughly 10,000 to 15,000 years. They have their own languages, political and governance systems, justice structures and distinct approaches to territorial management and stewardship.
As recognized by Brazilian legislation, traditional peoples identify as culturally distinct groups. They maintain ways of life closely tied to nature and their own social organization, and they use knowledge, innovations and practices passed down through generations. Among them are quilombolas, traditional Afro-Brazilian communities formed by rural Black communities with their own historical trajectories, specific territorial relations and Black ancestry linked to the period of slavery; and ribeirinhos, traditional riverine communities, especially in the Amazon, whose ways of life are closely connected to the river and the surrounding forest.
An Indigenous Bioeconomy for the Amazon
As deforestation and degradation in the Amazon draw increasing global attention, interest is growing in building an Indigenous-led bioeconomy. About 2.7 million Indigenous Peoples live in the Amazon, and research shows that they are effective land stewards, with forest loss rates 30 times lower than in comparable forest areas managed by others.
The bioeconomy is a concept with competing and often contested definitions that reflect different economic and political priorities. Within this context, the Indigenous bioeconomy offers a distinct model for the Amazon — one rooted in Indigenous governance and ancestral knowledge that generates income while keeping the forest standing.
Rather than treating nature as a commodity, it recognizes the interdependence of land, people, animals, plants and ecosystems. It prioritizes diverse, forest-based production that sustains livelihoods and protects biodiversity. Economic activities are aligned with the forest’s natural rhythms — not the other way around — and territorial governance is strengthened to maintain the ecological integrity of Indigenous lands.
“A true bioeconomy presupposes diversity, recognition and the appreciation of the peoples who hold and sustain it,” said Junqueira, noting that Indigenous approaches avoid replicating extractive models that concentrate income and exclude forest communities.
Data from WRI’s New Economy for the Amazon report shows that pursuing a deforestation-free, low-carbon pathway could create an additional 312,000 jobs in the region by 2050 and boost the Brazilian Amazon’s annual GDP from that year onward by at least 40 billion reais ($8.2 billion). It could also contribute an estimated 226 billion reais ($50 billion) to Brazil’s overall GDP. Beyond these quantifiable benefits, investing in the Indigenous bioeconomy can offer lasting value, from ecosystem services across multiple traditional service sectors to food security for Indigenous and traditional peoples. It can also help address systemic exclusion and strengthen Indigenous leadership and authority over territorial governance.
The 4 Elements of an Indigenous Bioeconomy
Emerging research and successful initiatives like ARSX highlight four core elements at the heart of the Indigenous bioeconomy. These elements not only set it apart from conventional forest-based industries, but they are also key to ensuring that a bioeconomy delivers benefits for people, nature and the climate. Grounded in climate justice, they address historical and structural inequities by securing Indigenous and traditional peoples’ decision-making power, land tenure and fair participation in sustainable economic activity.
Reciprocity. Production that Values Ecosystems
Clearing land for crops, cattle, logging or mining has long dominated the Amazon’s economy. This model prioritizes production, often degrading forests and land while excluding the people who depend on them. In contrast, reciprocity is a key element of the Indigenous bioeconomy, where production, exchange and trade sustain both people and the forest, including animals, plants, rivers and other parts of the ecosystem. Collective benefit takes precedence over individual profit, with income generated from activities that maintain biodiversity and tree cover.
In the Xingu River Basin in the southern Amazon, for example, the Ikpeng gatherers never collect all the seeds they find along the trails, recognizing that some must be left to allow trees to grow and produce seeds for future generations.
Similarly, the Baniwa communities make traditional handicrafts, from ceramics to woven baskets, using sustainably gathered materials and techniques that preserve the forest by following seasonal cycles and material availability, while also supporting their livelihoods. This kind of ancestral knowledge about native species and their seasons helps keep harvesting in the Amazon sustainable.
Redistribution. Benefits that Circulate Rather Than Concentrate
Wealth generated from natural resources in the Amazon has typically left the region, while environmental and social harm remains. For example, large-scale monoculture soy production has caused the disappearance of plant species important as medicines and food staples for Indigenous people.
In the Indigenous bioeconomy, redistribution means resources and benefits are shared fairly, ensuring economic gains are equally circulated rather than concentrated. It helps promote local economic stability, social cohesion and solidarity. It also strengthens collective well-being, not only of people but also of “more-than-humans” — a term reflecting the Indigenous view that people are not at the top of a hierarchy but are part of a deep interconnection with other beings, tied to spiritual beliefs about nature, ancestors and sacred places.
Redistribution can take shape through initiatives like community seed banks, which promote sharing resources rather than concentrating them. By exchanging seeds with other communities, these banks help restore species that have disappeared in some territories, using seeds from areas where they still thrive.
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Recognition. Centering Indigenous Governance and Land Rights
The Indigenous bioeconomy is inseparable from the forest ecosystem and Indigenous expertise. It places ancestral knowledge at the center of sustainable production while working together with modern science to help communities manage natural resources and develop new products and services.
Central to this approach is recognition: Indigenous and traditional peoples must have secure land rights, the authority to decide how resources, knowledge, intellectual property and data are managed, as well as how value is created and shared, based on their free, prior and informed consent. Without recognition, communities remain vulnerable to the appropriation of their practices and innovations as economic activities unfold in their territories.
“Without territory, there is no bioeconomy,” said Junqueira. This is because without land recognition and governance authority, Indigenous populations face logging, land grabbing and restrictions that prevent them from managing the forest they protect. Community-led practices, such as selective harvesting, cannot shape markets or production systems without secure rights and decision-making power.
The Jiquitaia chili pepper, harvested and sold by Baniwa Indigenous women in Alto Rio Negro in the northeastern Amazon, shows what recognition looks like in practice. Produced using traditional knowledge and harvesting methods developed over generations, the chili is commercialized according to the Baniwa women themselves, ensuring Indigenous authority over how the product is managed, valued and brought to market. It is a key example of connecting traditional stewardship with market opportunities while preserving the forest and reinforcing Indigenous control over land, knowledge and value creation.
Respect. Production that Honors Culture, Knowledge and Heritage
Respect for Indigenous peoples, their practices, sacred land and spiritual beliefs is essential, as the Indigenous bioeconomy requires accepting economic models and definitions beyond a basic capitalist or market system. In this approach, products and services are not the end, but a means of safeguarding ways of life, systems of knowledge and heritage.
Respect is expressed clearly in Indigenous food systems, which connect forest conservation, livelihoods and collective well-being. Climate change, deforestation and market pressures are disrupting these systems, contributing to the loss of Indigenous staples, shifts toward ultra-processed foods and increased malnutrition and food scarcity. By supporting forest-based livelihoods, agroforestry, fisheries and local value chains rooted in ancestral knowledge, the Indigenous bioeconomy helps restore access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods while generating income without forest loss. Sustainable harvesting practices also protect ancient monumental constructions (geoglifos) and sacred natural sites (kymyrury), unlike large-scale clearing of land for farming and ranching.
The emphasis is less on the product or service and more on the process of how they are produced or offered, and for whom. The process is valued because it integrates ancestral knowledge, community practices, technologies and diverse ways of producing and sharing resources. Maintaining the close connection between the way of doing things and its consequences for the social division of labor is what makes production meaningful.
A Path Forward for the Indigenous Bioeconomy
In the Amazon, where social inequalities and environmental pressures create complex challenges for sustainable development, the Indigenous bioeconomy offers a viable way forward.
Rooted in reciprocity, redistribution, recognition and respect, it is an approach that links economic opportunity with land stewardship and a commitment to collective well-being. It helps keep wealth within the Amazonian communities and challenges dominant extractive models that exclude local voices.
At the same time, the Indigenous bioeconomy operates in a context shaped by overlapping challenges, including:
- Conflicting visions between commercial production and Indigenous production systems.
- Linguistic and cultural barriers to accessing finance and markets.
- Differing understandings of investment and sustainability.
- Potential socioeconomic changes resulting from commercial activities.
- Lack of infrastructure and connectivity compatible with Indigenous bioeconomy activities in some Amazon regions.
- Public and private economic incentives for extractive activities within Indigenous territories, which can hinder the development of alternative economic activities.
Together, these factors can constrain Indigenous-led economic initiatives and affect how benefits are distributed.
As the Indigenous bioeconomy evolves, it is crucial to make it inclusive. This means encouraging Indigenous thought leaders and researchers to lead bioeconomy initiatives and drive more Indigenous-led research, as well as integrating Indigenous ancestral knowledge with academic science. Strengthening networks to advocate for and influence public policies supporting an Indigenous bioeconomy is also vital, as is investing in people, helping build their skills and protect their territorial rights.
"No bioeconomy or ecosystem restoration effort can be successful without the genuine inclusion of people,” said Junqueira. “If the people involved do not feel a sense of belonging to the process, the chances of success are minimal.”
To build a bioeconomy that supports sustainable development, boosts local economies, promotes social equality and protects biodiversity, inclusion is not optional — it is fundamental.
Broader Efforts to Advance the Bioeconomy and Amazonian Communities’ Rights
The Indigenous bioeconomy is part of a broader shift toward bioeconomy agendas, including strengthening the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and traditional communities across the Pan-Amazon. The Bioeconomy Challenge initiative, for example, aims to support the implementation of bioeconomy solutions and attract investment into the sector, putting into practice of the ten High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy established by the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB) in 2024, while recognizing Indigenous Peoples as both rights-holders and central economic actors.
WRI advances the bioeconomy agenda through applied research and collaboration with Indigenous partners. Key initiatives include a joint study with Uma Concertação pela Amazônia on Indigenous bioeconomy models. WRI also co-authored a policy brief published for the 2024 G20 meeting in partnership with Indigenous researchers Braulina Baniwa and Francisco Apurinã. In addition to leading a socio-bioeconomy working group within the Bioeconomy Challenge, WRI co-leads the Pan-Amazon Network for Bioeconomy, a multisectoral alliance that promotes bioeconomy development grounded in principles inspired by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.