Valuing the Amazon through bioeconomy and mycotourism

The Guardian miniseries examines how the Amazon can be protected by rethinking its value. It follows researchers and Indigenous communities exploring bioeconomy, sustainable use, and cultural preservation, including the potential of mycotourism and fungal biodiversity as part of a broader strategy to conserve forests while supporting local livelihoods.

Introduction: Reframing the Amazon's Value

This episode continues the Guardian's special coverage of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, focusing on ways to value forests beyond extraction. It outlines how standing forests deliver climate regulation, water cycling, and local livelihoods, and asks whether new economic models can align conservation with development.

Mycotourism and Fungi: The Hidden Wealth

Botanist and mycology researcher Celia Christine Botte Suarez guides nocturnal forays to discover bioluminescent fungi and glowing lizards, highlighting the enormous but largely untapped diversity of Amazonian fungi. She argues that fungi could yield medicines, high-value proteins, and agricultural tools, stressing that less than 10% of Amazonian fungi are known and that the sector could underpin sustainable tourism and local economies. "We know less than 10% of the millions of species of fungi in the Amazon and that they have almost infinite potential as medicines, future sources of protein, and even for pest control in agriculture" - Celia Christine Botte Suarez

Bioeconomy and the Standing Forest: Economic Vision and Policy

Economists and policy makers discuss viewing the forest as a central pillar of the economy. Jos Barlow emphasizes that ecosystem services—carbon storage, rainfall regulation, and biodiversity—are undervalued in traditional economies, and that a sustainable bioeconomy could integrate products like Brazil nuts and forest oils while protecting habitats. "The forest left standing is worth much more than the forest that's been felled" - Jos Barlow

Indigenous Communities and Market Integration

The Mazoa project and the Asurini community illustrate efforts to blend ancestral knowledge with modern technologies to create healthful, biodiversity-rich foods and potential new revenue streams. The Belo Mochi Dam's legacy shows how infrastructure can disrupt traditional food systems, underscoring the need for governance that protects culture and autonomy while offering economic opportunity. "In the most fundamental way, bioeconomies should be a reconciliation of nature and economy" - Karina Pimenta

Outlook and Challenges

The episode concludes by acknowledging that corporate greenwashing and short-term GDP gains threaten long-term ecological and cultural resilience, but also highlights pathways for community-led, biodiversity-centered development that can sustain both forests and people.