Programme to Accelerate Sociobioeconomy in the Amazon

Photo: First co-creation meeting of the PAS

Participatory consultation process to build the programme to be funded by USAID and the Skoll Foundation and coordinated by the Conexsus Institute

Context

The Programme to Accelerate Sociobioeconomy in the Amazon (PAS) arises from the interest of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Skoll Foundation in investing in a project to promote sociobioeconomy and climate action in the Brazilian Legal Amazon. The initiative, which Conexsus Institute will coordinate, is based on the principle that the development of the bioeconomy in Brazil depends on well-structured socio-biodiversity businesses and a favourable business environment for the development of these initiatives.

The initial design phase of the programme involved dialogue with various stakeholders through interviews and three participatory workshops. Representatives of traditional Amazonian communities and peoples, civil society organisations, other funding organisations, representatives of academia, the innovation ecosystem and the government contributed to the proposal, bringing the total number of stakeholders to approximately 150. At each interaction, a draft of the concept note that will guide the development of the PAS was systematised by the team of facilitators to support decision-making by the funding and management organisations.

Approach

Our role during the co-creation process of the Amazon Sociobioeconomy Acceleration Programme involved interviewing key players who could inform the construction of the Programme, planning and conducting the three co-creation and decision-making meetings on the PAS and drafting the revised versions of the concept note and logical framework that were generated at each new participatory stage. This general flow is detailed in the following paragraphs.

The first participatory meeting, held in São Paulo, focused on presenting the proposal to key players, collectively mapping opportunities and gaps that PAS could contribute to, raising suggestions for priority areas of action and premises to be observed throughout the implementation of the Programme. The meeting was attended by around 50 people, including representatives of traditional peoples and communities in the Amazon, members of the third sector who work with these groups, representatives of sustainable investment organisations and also the three organisations leading the programme.

At the second meeting, held in Brasilia, the proposal from the first meeting was refined, including the suggestion of indicators to monitor the Programme's actions in the central axes. This meeting had greater participation from government members and a presentation on the National Sociobioeconomy Strategy by a representative of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. This was followed by a discussion on how the PAS could leverage ongoing national government initiatives in this field, with special attention to the National Sociobioeconomy Plan under construction.

The third meeting, also held in Brasilia, was an alignment and decision-making meeting involving the funding organisations, USAID and the Skoll Foundation, the team from the managing organisation, Instituto Conexsus, as well as strategic partners interested in co-implementing and co-funding the programme.