VOA新闻杂志2023--Support Grows for Bioeconomy in Amazon

Support Grows for Bioeconomy in Amazon

Brazil's Amazon rainforest has long been home to small and mid-sized sustainable businesses. These companies use the area's nuts, fruits and other materials.

Now there is a push to increase the number of those businesses. And a new term has come about to describe these kinds of businesses: "bioeconomy."

Marcelo Salazar has a drink company called Mazo Mana Forest Food. The business partners with communities that live from the forest and gather the nuts, cocoa beans, acai, mushrooms, fruits and other ingredients that go into the drinks. They have received financial support from an investment group in Manaus, Brazil. The hope is that the bioeconomy counters an economy based on forestry¹ and ranching².

Leaders from Amazon countries used and heard the term repeatedly at an August meeting in Belem. The officials expressed interest for policies to protect the rainforest and provide paying work for tens of millions who live in it.

However, beyond general support for the idea, there was little agreement about what exactly a bioeconomy should look like. Salazar was on a team chosen by Brazil's environment ministry³ to speak about the subject.

The idea is not new. It is the latest term for sustainable development, also called the green economy.

Besides the Brazil nuts and acai harvesters, people are making chocolate from native cocoa. There is a sustainable fishery for one of the world's largest freshwater fish. A community of rubber gatherers is helping⁴ produce shoes.

"The challenge is scale," Para state Governor Helder Barbalho said. His state is believed to be the only in Brazil that has a complete bioeconomy plan. Para is Brazil's top producer of acai, yet its economy is far more dependent on iron ore exports to China. A large amount of land in Para is used by an estimated 27 million farm cows. The state emits more greenhouse gases than any Amazon country besides Brazil.

But when it comes to larger sustainable companies, there are few success stories. The best example has been skin product company Natura. Twenty years ago it started a product line using ingredients from traditional Amazon communities and family farms.

When the company started, local people were using ucuuba trees to make brooms. They greatly increased their earnings⁵ by leaving the trees standing⁶ and selling the seeds to Natura. The change helped conserve⁷ more than 2 million hectares of forest.

Natura bought goods from 41 communities – home to 9,120 families – who in 2022 received about $9 million.

Para State's plan for the bioeconomy names 43 forest products that could be exported, including acai, cocoa, cassava, pepper, fish species and essential oils for skin products.

And the neighboring Amazonas state is creating a bioeconomy plan with financial support from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

But some earlier efforts reveal problems.

A state condom factory in the Amazon city of Xapuri opened in 2008. It was supposed to provide a market for hundreds of rubber-gathering families. But the factory closed 10 years later, after federal funding came to an end. Locals resorted to cattle ranching and today the area ranks high for deforestation.

Cocoa beans have also caused problems. The trees can be a way to let forest grow back where it has been cut down. But its appeal in places like the Ivory Coast and Ghana has meant massive deforestation to make way for the trees that earn more money.

Salazar, head of Mazo Mana, views his company as both social-minded and good for the economy. It keeps nearly 10 percent of its money for its partner community associations.

Salazar thinks the sustainable companies that succeed and grow big will be those with a mission to solve the Amazon's problems. He says those companies will drive an economy that sees the value of the forest.

Words in This Story

sustainable — adj. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed

scale — n. the size or level of something especially in comparison to something else

greenhouse gas — n.

broom — n. a brush that has a long handle and that is used for sweeping⁸ floors

 

condom — n. a thin rubber covering that a man wears on his penis during sex in order to prevent a woman from becoming pregnant or to prevent the spread of diseases

1 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

2 ranching   

adj.放牧的

参考例句：

• They cleared large tracts of forest for farming, logging and ranching. 他们清除了大片的森林以经营农耕、采伐与畜牧。
• This is a trade center in a ranching and oil-producing region. 这是一个牧场与产油区的贸易中心。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？