2023 Lovejoy Symposium

Carter Roberts, President & CEO, WWF
Kirk Johnson, National Museum of Natural History

The challege of Amazonian sustainability - Paulo Artaxo, University of São Paulo

Paulo Artaxo, University of São Paulo
Yolanda Kakabadse, WWF-US Board of Directors

Meg Symington, World Wildlife Fund-US

Juan Carlos Jintiach, Global Alliance of Territorial Communities
Patricia Gualinga, Native Kichwa People of Sarayaku
Tarsicio Granizo, WWF-Ecuador

Kurt Holle, WWF-Peru

On social-ecological change and governance challenges in the Amazon, Eduardo Brondizio, Indiana University

How do we produce science for the Amazon and in the Amazon?

There has been a significant production of knowledge in the Amazon related to climate, biophysical and social processes, and their interactions. There is increased attention to climate change impacts and the associated cascading effects on ecological and social systems, and the responses needed to avoid a likely tipping point and enhance resilience of natural ecosystems and people’s livelihoods. More recently, there is growing interest in assessing what responses can achieve outcomes for both nature and people, what synergies are needed across interventions, and what multi-level actions have the largest potential to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future in the Amazon. Another critical discussion is on the importance of integrating diverse knowledge systems, including indigenous and local knowledge, in understanding socio-ecological dynamics and potential solutions. This session will bring views from institutional actors and academics on the avenues for science to contribute to social and policy processes to advance sustainability and resilience in the Amazon.

• Mariana Varese, Wildlife Conservation Society - Peru
• Marielos Peña-Claros, Wageningen University & Research
• Karen B. Strier, Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS)
• Diego Ochoa, Humboldt Institute
• Alexandra Moreira, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)

Moderated by Cesar Suarez, WWF-Colombia

• Braulina Baniwa, ANMIGA: National Articulation of Indigenous Women of Brazil
• Tabea Casique Coronado, AIDESEP Asheninka People – Ucayali, Peru

Sustain, adapt, and change to enhance sustainability and resilience across places

This session will showcase the diverse realities of forest and aquatic resource management in the Amazon, including by Indigenous peoples, smallholders and agro-extractive communities, fishers, and cattle ranchers. Territories controlled and managed by Indigenous peoples contribute to effective stewardship of nature but continue to face external threats. Forest conversion is largely due to a cattle ranching sector that is under increasing pressure to become more sustainable. Diverse traditional agro-extractive and fishing communities are adopting multiple strategies to sustain and diversify their livelihoods. Increasing impacts of climate change affect these socio-ecological realities differently, but responses are emerging to sustain, adapt, or change current management practices and institutions. In addition, large-scale restoration is essential to maintain and enhance resilience in the Amazon. These efforts to sustain, adapt, and change require coordinated policies, collective action, and supporting finance to achieve converging goals. This session will discuss the pathways to achieve converging goals while attending to the diverse socio-ecological realities in the Amazon.

• Marcos F. Terán Valenzuela, Conservación Amazónica
• Leandro Castello, Virginia Tech
• Lisa Rausch, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Alex Alvarez, School for International Training

Moderated by Pablo Pacheco, WWF

Closing remarks by Meg Symington, WWF