Tropentag, September 16 - 18, 2026, Göttingen "Towards multi-functional agro-ecosystems promoting climate-resilient futures"

Institutional change grounded in socio-bioeconomies for leaving no one and no forest behind in Amazônia?

Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Governance, Equity and Well-being, Germany

Abstract

This research aims at understanding and addressing processes of access restrictions to livelihood-relevant resources by traditional local communities, and at what it takes to have equitable socio-bioeconomies in a context of high natural occurrence of non-timber forest products (NTFP) and a low Human Development Index. Given limitations of resource and market access reported by traditional local communities of Quilombolas (Afrodescandant Peoples), and a limiting institutional environment for forest-reliant livelihoods in Amazônia, the main questions are: how do institutions (re)shape natural resource and market access by Quilombolas in the protected area of the Trombetas River Biological Reserve (TRBR)? How can access-implications be addressed or redressed? Implications of the TRBR Term of Compromise (TC) – a formal institution written by Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) – on livelihood-relevant access to socio-biodiversity products (Brazil nuts) and markets are analyzed. Methods include semi-structured interviews (n=96) focusing on NTFP-gatherers, and observation and focus-group interviews for data triangulation. An analytical framework is developed, combining access theory, institutions and property rights scholarship. Findings reveal that the TC overwrites institutionalized norms of Quilombola communities, which regulated such livelihood-relevant access long before the TRBR establishment (1979). The TC not only formalizes BN use but also unintentionally leads to a oligopsonic market structure to the detriment of Brazil nut gatherers. It further restricts natural resource and market access, limiting Quilombolas’ bioeconomy-benefits. This calls for addressing and redressing institution-based access limitations faced by Quilombolas, including through inclusive co-management of PAs and the TC. Achieving an inclusive socio-bioeconomy in aciently and collectively owned forests overlapping with protected areas (PAs) requires recognising the traditional use of livelihod-relevant NTFPs on a sustainable basis. In Brazil, socio-biodiversity products (e.g., Brazil nuts) are vital for traditional livelihoods, yet PA regulations frequently override customary norms, limiting equitable benefits. As an outlook, the National Bioeconomy Development Plan featuring socio-bioeconomy prominently (Brazil, 2026) offers a concrete entry-point not only for inclusively implementing Brazil’s Bioeconomy Strategy but also for policy uptake of learnings from this case. It can further inform similarly contested forest landscapes and social-ecological systems in other geographies for leaving no biodiverse area nor anyone behind.

Keywords: (socio-)biodiversity, bioeconomy, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, non-wood forest product, protected areas, sustainable livelihoods, sustainable use of natural resources

Contact Address: Marcelo Inacio da Cunha , Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Governance, Equity and Well-being, Ferdinand-Schmitz-Str. 39d, 53639 Koenigswinter, Germany, e-mail: m.cunhacifor-icraf.org