Brazil | July 14, 2026

Daniel Cariello (Interview realized for Swissnex’s nature-focused newsletter Canopy)

Born and raised in Belém, in the state of Pará, Paulo Reis has become an active voice in building a new narrative for the Amazon region. Trained in law, his career path shifted while still at university, when his contact with riverside and quilombola (escaped enslaved descendants) communities through university extension projects led him to realize that the traditional activities of these communities are, in fact, a deeply undervalued treasure.

This understanding turned into entrepreneurship. In 2013, Paulo became a partner at Manioca, a company that connects biodiversity and gastronomy, transforming regional ingredients into value-added products that generate income for local populations and encourage the preservation of the standing forest. Later, he co-founded Amazonique, which offers juices made from native fruits of the Amazon, such as taperebá and cupuaçu, on the Pará market, competing directly with global flavors and large corporations.

His leadership expanded to a sectoral level. In 2023, he helped found Assobio (Association of Amazon Bioeconomy Businesses), now the largest bioeconomy network supporting local communities in Latin America. With 211 associated ventures, it generates tens of billions of reais in income, impacts over 70,000 people across 50,000 hectares, and promotes an economy based on knowledge and the appreciation of Amazonian human capital.

In this interview, Paulo Reis discusses the challenges of scaling forest-based ventures, the importance of fostering an “Amazon Inside” imaginary for regional goods and services, and how international cooperation can boost the region’s technological and social development.

Bioeconomy is a topic in the spotlight. However, there is no consensus on the term, and each stakeholder defines it differently. In your view, what is bioeconomy?

From my perspective, it is an economic activity that helps preserve and restore biodiversity. It is important to distinguish this from simply replacing oil with biomass. If you clear 20,000 hectares to plant sugarcane and produce ethanol, you are replacing oil-related carbon emissions with emissions from deforestation.

You may replant afterward; that’s true, but you lose the impact biodiversity has on the soil, which is a much larger carbon reservoir than the trees themselves, and on maintaining the ecosystem. This is very serious. Science believes that the next pandemic may come from the Amazon.

The idea that “the future is ancestral,” defended by Brazilian Indigenous writer and philosopher Ailton Krenak, suggests learning from traditional communities and from nature. How can bioeconomy incorporate this principle without reducing local knowledge to mere market logic?

At Assobio, we say that the region’s biodiversity can be compared to a human-made masterpiece. Some anthropologists argue that the Amazon rainforest is our equivalent of the Egyptian pyramids. A number of studies show that what we call a native forest was actually shaped by traditional peoples. “Terra Preta de Índio”, for example, is a highly advanced fertilization technology in relatively poor soil. So, the understanding that the Amazon is a vast library is fundamental for humanity.

We need to look at traditional knowledge as the way a certain type of civilization in the Amazon found to live in harmony with nature, at scale. There is a myth that an Indigenous community can do this, but large populations cannot. This is a misconception.

In pre-Columbian America, 8 million people lived simultaneously, more than in all of Europe at the same time, with a significant portion residing in the Amazon. We need to learn from this way of life that sustained so many people and created 5 million square kilometers of forest.

Manioca exports its products to 12 countries. What has this experience taught you about the challenges of scaling a forest-based business?

We learned that the best strategy is not to create entirely new markets, which is very expensive for a small company, but to enter existing ones and gain relevance. For example, instead of only explaining what tucupi is, we bring biodiversity into categories people already consume.

Another lesson is that we must combine purpose with business competence. Impact only happens if the business is financially sustainable.

And there is an urgent need to apply more technical and scientific knowledge. We need to stop treating bioeconomy as just “jam and soap” and raise the level of product innovation. Major behavioral changes only happen with massive public and civil investment. We need to make an effort so people recognize, value, desire, and respect the Amazon.

For these products to reach consumers, it is necessary to overcome bottlenecks in Amazonian supply chains. What are the main ones?

The first bottleneck is the market itself, which involves mobilizing production, distribution, and consumption. The second is technical capacity, both to ensure food quality and to develop innovations, such as medicines.

Another challenge is skilled labor. We need to retain local talent and attract people from outside. For that, the Amazon must become a hub that offers quality of life, safety, leisure, work, and a multicultural environment, like Shenzhen, Paris, or New York.

Today, a place like Florianópolis occupies this “Eldorado” imaginary in Brazil, a role once held by Rio de Janeiro. The Amazon needs to build a similar image, where people dream of coming to help create a fairer and more sustainable world, but also to prosper professionally.

In this process, new technologies emerge constantly. How can we ensure they strengthen, rather than replace, the autonomy of Amazonian communities?

Technologies are not an end in themselves, they serve objectives. They can make supply chains more transparent and more accessible to traditional communities.

There are questions like: “If we change the way açaí is harvested, will riverside communities stop producing it?”. No, because they don’t harvest açaí just to sell it, it is part of their traditional way of life. If they can use technology to increase income while reducing risks or physical effort, this can be positive for the community.

If you asked me to name two dreams for the region, the first would be to receive billions of dollars in investment in science, technology and innovation. The second would be to implement extremely strict protection of territories and the rights of traditional populations.

With these two pillars, we can make the Amazon the most prosperous place on the planet.

In a recent report, Assobio pointed out that many Brazilians still see the Amazon as a “distant and mysterious place.” What impacts does this perception have? And what kind of narrative shift is needed?

Ailton Krenak speaks about dreams in some of his work. Ancestry is deeply connected to this. The imaginary, what people are able to envision, plays a major role in the choices they make. Brazil mostly knows the Amazon through negative news: wildfires, conflicts, and crime. This prevents people from imagining it as a region that produces science, technology, and wealth.

While Brazil focuses on the Amazon’s scars, agribusiness thrives on a dominant narrative that has attracted historically high levels of support. These incentives should reflect a concern with climate risks, including those that will be felt by agribusiness itself.

We need to create an “Amazon Inside” imaginary. Show that the region is responsible, for example, for the electricity and food that reach people’s homes. We need Brazil to see the Amazon so that it wants to invest in it. No one invests in what they cannot visualize.

Switzerland is a country without tropical forests, but with strong scientific, technological, and financial capacity. What can the Amazon teach Switzerland about bioeconomy

Switzerland is famous for chocolate, but chocolate comes from cocoa, which is an Amazonian product. It is essential for Switzerland to recognize the value of origin for its own economy.

But let’s reverse the question: what can Switzerland contribute to the Amazon?

The country is a major hub of trust. The world trusts Swiss watches, finance and food. In this sense, it could help by bringing its technologies and professionals, fostering knowledge exchange, and financing research, science and innovation. This is in the interest of both sides.

How can international cooperation and initiatives like Swissnex’s nexBio Amazonia transform connections between countries into concrete impacts in the region?

The path is to strengthen intellectual capital. It would be fantastic to have exchange programs where Amazonian entrepreneurs and researchers could pursue MBAs or extension programs in Switzerland—and where Swiss professionals could come to the Amazon.

Technological and human development depends on bringing people together. Creating scholarships for local talents to visit Swiss laboratories and companies would have very positive and long-lasting effects on the region.

Finally, what advice would you give to international partners interested in co-creating solutions within the Amazon bioeconomy ecosystem?

My main advice is: invest in the people of the Amazon, not just in materials. Often, interest is focused on the raw input, like açaí, but the real value should be in knowledge applied locally. We want the Amazon economy to be knowledge-based, so that even if açaí is produced elsewhere, the world will depend on the technology and professionals from our region to develop the best products.

In addition, defend the rights of traditional populations and sustainable land use. If we have technological centers from global institutions operating here, in synergy with strict territorial protection, then, again, we will have the most prosperous place on the planet.

To Learn More
Recommendations by Paulo Reis for those who want to dive deeper into bioeconomy and the Amazon.

What bioeconomy is this?
“A series of 3 short videos by WRI Brazil, a good starting point to understand the topic.” (Available in Portuguese)

Watch the videos

What was the Americas really like before Columbus arrived?
“A BBC production showing the sophistication of societies in the Americas, including the Amazon, before European colonization.” (Available in Portuguese)

Watch the video

Arrabalde
“A series of 6 articles from Piauí magazine, probably the best summary for understanding the Amazon. In Portuguese, “Arrabalde” refers to what lies outside civilization, which is how Brazil often sees the region.” (Available in Portuguese)

Read the articles

How to identify the different Amazons?
“A TEDx talk by researcher Beto Veríssimo, who divides the Amazon into five distinct regions. Great to understand its diversity.” (Available in Portuguese)

Watch the video