Amazonia Beyond Deforestation: Emerging Topics Ahead of COP 30

Remember the fire season that affected the Amazon in 2019? Back then, friends from France and the USA would often ask for my opinion on what was going on.

The reality is: Amazonia is increasingly at the center of global attention. Indeed, in Nov. 2025, the United Nations’ Climate Conferences of the Parties (COP 30) will be hosted in Pará, Brazil. Thousands of delegates will flow into Belém, a large humid city best known for its intriguing food culture.

With the media attention devoted to COPs every year, Amazonia will make the news cycle. But with what focus? Is the gaze going to be more nuanced than usual? What are the emerging topics to pay attention to?

To explore that, I compiled 20 years of Google search data. The region peaked in media attention in 2007, thanks to a popular TV series called “Amazonia”, which explored the region’s complex socioenvironmental context, and again in 2019 during the fire season (which is repeating itself in 2024). However, despite these spikes in interest, Amazonia garnered no more attention than the “Arctic” and only slightly more than “Antarctica” between 2004 and 2024.

As someone who grew up in the Amazon, I’m often struck by how narrow and repetitive the global conversation about this immense region has been. The relevance of the deforestation problem from a global standpoint makes it difficult for other facets to emerge. Yet, with the upcoming COP 30, there's an opportunity to broaden this narrative.

To highlight some of these overlooked dimensions, below, I offer my own list of emerging topics that I think deserve attention in the months leading up to COP 30:

🔄 Tech + startups. A rising scene centered around Manaus and Belém is increasingly reaching national, regional and global audiences (AeroRiver and Nedu, for example). Startup ecosystems and networks are a bridge between local entrepreneurs and sources of capital, skills and demand from around the world.

🔄 Connectivity. The deployment of satellite-based internet services in the Amazon has transformed internet access across the region, enabling residents to engage with essential services like PIX and digital government platforms. The enhanced connectivity fosters economic and civic participation.

🔄 Startups + Bioeconomy. A wave of innovation on sustainable use of the region's rich biodiversity and natural resources. Companies using inputs such as Cassava, Açaí, Tambaqui, Guaraná and Cupuaçu are developing solutions that promote the region's agrobiodiversity.

🔄 Carbon credits. The intersection between climate finance, land rights, indigenous rights and monitoring technologies brings in a whole new gaze to the region, involving a diverse set of global stakeholders and calling for a deep understanding of local contexts. Large financial institutions are often the catalists of new conversations around this topic.

🔄 Remote sensing + anthropology. Recent scientific discoveries show that the region has been inhabited for much longer than previously thought, as earlier cultures left different signs of their presence in the region (geoglyphs, black earth). The findings stem, to a large extent, from technology-enhanced research, especially using satellite imagery.

🔄 The soy complex. While cattle has been the key topic around environmental conservation, the rapid expansion of commodities including soy, corn and cotton in the southern edge of the region calls for a new set of discussions around regenerative agriculture, biological fertilization and soil and water health.

🔄 Fish farming. The Amazon's vast water resources are fueling debates around sustainable fish farming. Aquaculture not only addresses food security but also connects to regional culture while allowing for more protein production using less land. A recent report by Instituto Escolhas explored this topic.

🔄 Culinary Scene. With its uniquely diverse flavors, the food from Belém is being connected with global culinary techniques to promote ingredients such as açaí and the Tambaqui, a native Amazonian fish, to wider audiences.

🔄 Supply chain transparency. Regulations such as the EU deforestation regulation along with voluntary commitments by corporations sourcing commodities from the Amazon require an increasingly complex ecosystem of frameworks, technologies and capabilities to provide transparency to supply chains.

🔄 Smart Agriculture Solutions. Agribusiness is a reality in the Amazon and the application of IoT devices and sensors to optimize resource use, improve yields, and reduce environmental impacts is a growing scene. The Rondônia Rural Show in Ji-Paraná is the key venue where these technologies are showcased yearly.

Let’s keep the conversation going – what innovations or challenges in the Amazon do you see gaining importance in the near future? Feel free to share your thoughts and insights.