Shedding Light on the Brazilian Amazon Biotrade: A Study on Sustainable Development in Native Communities

Abstract

The Amazon is a biodiversity hotspot. Around 90% of its territory is inhabited by native communities, who spontaneously organize themselves into groups of extractivists and small producers, relying on biodiversity as their primary means of sustenance. This paper aims to discuss how the biotrade of Amazonian biodiversity goods affects native communities with respect to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Based on a sample of 178 native extractivists in four communities, we concluded that biotrade enabled native communities to market their products by adapting to existing conditions, considering the difficulties and the expectations of traditional residents, and contributed to the three dimensions of sustainable development.