Natural resource production chains in the Amazon - such as cupuaçu and açaí fruits and pirarucu fish - will receive investments of BRL 96.6 million through the Forests and Communities: Living Amazon program, announced on Tuesday (Dec. 9) in Brasília.

The initiative by the National Supply Company (Conab) will be carried out with resources from the Amazon Fund and with support from the Ministries of the Environment and Climate Change and Agrarian Development and Family Farming.

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The program will be implemented over two years with the aim of expanding the supply of forest products to the consumer market, diversifying the regional menu through the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), and increasing the supply of foods originating from socio-biodiversity and family farming to the Food Acquisition Program (PAA).

“It is a legacy that we in the Brazilian government need to leave to the forest peoples. Socio-biodiversity products need to be promoted and deserve the visibility that other products important to Brazil’s economy have,” said Conab President João Edegar Pretto.

The initiative will cover 32 projects from cooperatives and associations in the Legal Amazon region, bringing together foresters, aquaculturists, extractivists, artisanal fishers, indigenous peoples, and quilombola communities.

Each proposal may receive investments of up to BRL 2.5 million for the acquisition of equipment and infrastructure aimed at boosting the commercialization of forest products in consumer markets.

The funds will be transferred to the program by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), which manages the Amazon Fund. According to BNDES’ socio-environmental director, Tereza Campello, the investment was made possible by a major effort to reduce deforestation and restructure the fund’s resources, allowing for investments that will total BRL 2.2 billion in 2025.

“This Conab initiative represents almost BRL 100 million for a strategic agenda that will reach our communities and also enable a platform where we will have all the socio-biodiversity data available in the Amazon in a professional and organized manner,” concluded Tereza Campello.

Late in the afternoon and served piping hot in a gourd, the tacacá soup is a must-have dish across Brazil’s Amazonian cities.

Made from cassava, dried shrimp, and jambu – the tingling plant – the dish has indigenous origins and is prepared by tacacazeiras, or tacacá makers.

Now, the craft of these cooks, who are guardians of the recipe, has been recognized as cultural heritage of Brazil by the National Institute of Historic and Cultural Heritage, IPHAN.

In general, tacacá recipes are family secrets passed down from generation to generation. Each has its own way of balancing the alkalinity of the starch with the acidity of the tucupi, seasoned with chicory, basil, and even garlic, varying from vendor to vendor.

Once registered as heritage, it is up to the institute to develop a plan to safeguard it. The measure should include ways to promote the cuisine, manage small businesses, access raw materials, and improve points of sale.

A source of pride

At 71 years old, Maria de Nazaré, also known as Aunt Naza, says she learned how to make the dish from her grandmother and her mother. For 15 years, selling it in Manaus has been her main source of income.

“Tacacá has always been part of my life. I used to sell it late in the afternoon, after work, outside my house. I raised two grandchildren who became lawyers, two who became doctors, and one who became a journalist,” she recounted.

Nazaré was in Brasília this week and attended the IPHAN meeting that made the craft a national heritage. She celebrated the decision.

“Being a tacacá maker means taking pride in our unique ingredients. Amazonian cuisine is alive, powerful, and deserves to be celebrated,” she declared.

Over the years, tacacá broth has undergone variations. It came to be served with crab, popcorn, and even in a vegan version, with heart of palm or olives.
 

Research

To make the craft of the tacacá makers listed as cultural heritage, the institute organized a research and documentation project on the tradition involved in preparing the dish as well as related knowledge, from purchasing ingredients to marketing. 

The work was carried out in partnership with the Federal University of Western Pará (UFOPA). The team visited seven Brazilian states, documenting and hearing from cooks about the registration.

In the file that supported the decision to include the craft in the Livro dos Saberes (“Book of Knowledge”), experts from the institute say that tacacá makers are “keepers of knowledge and secrets” and continue “not only the methods of preparing an elaborate dish, but also forms of sociability.” 

These women, the document goes on to say, are also responsible for passing on “exclusive knowledge,” step by step, so that the practice is not lost.

History

Tacacá is a traditional indigenous dish, but its commercialization was first recorded in the late 19th century, with urban expansion in the region and labor shortages.

At that time, women began selling food on the streets as a strategy for survival, balancing household duties with earning a living.

The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) ended on Saturday (Nov. 22), with the Brazilian presidency highlighting advances in the adaptation agenda, new international climate-implementation tools, and pathways for debating how to end dependence on fossil fuels.

In a press conference after the end of negotiations, COP30 President Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, Executive Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment Ana Toni, Chief Negotiator Liliam Chagas, and Minister of the Environment Marina Silva detailed the results.

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Corrêa do Lago recalled that the conference began under strong negotiating pressure and with expanded autonomy for the co-directors. He noted that the adaptation package, one of the most complex at the COP, started with more than 100 indicators and was finalized with 59.

“There was consensus on only 10 percent of these indicators. We reorganized the metrics and will continue discussions in June in Bonn (at the Climate Conference in Germany),” said the ambassador.

In the energy debate, Corrêa do Lago said there were “two ways to move forward” in developing the roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, a sensitive issue since Dubai.

“As a diplomat, I saw a more conservative version. But President Lula’s speech put the issue at the center and opened space to make it a structuring agenda,” he said.

According to him, even without consensus, the Brazilian presidency will continue to debate the issue and gather research and actions capable of indicating a pathway for countries to move away from fossil fuels.

Consensus

Executive Secretary Ana Toni emphasized that COP30 achieved “consensus on such a difficult issue” and moved forward with a concrete implementation agenda, without any country giving up on the agenda involving the Paris Agreement.

The economist highlighted the presentation of 120 acceleration plans in commercial fuels, carbon, and green industry, in addition to the 29 documents approved.

“Small and large steps have been taken in difficult geopolitical times. We did not take all the steps we wanted, but we took firm steps,” Toni stated.

She noted that one of the main legacies was taking adaptation “to another level, above any other COP,” including the effort to triple international financing by 2035.

Toni also highlighted the unprecedented inclusion of women and girls of African descent in the climate agenda and the strengthening of the ocean agenda.

Trade

Chief negotiator Lilian Chagas believes that vulnerable countries have managed to join forces. According to her, the set of indicators approved will serve as a compass to measure progress and guide policies. “This will mark how each country has advanced and how to proceed,” Chagas added.

She also announced the strengthening of the Global Climate Action Accelerator, which will serve as a permanent space to promote concrete measures outside the formal negotiation track.

Another advance was the creation of an international forum to address the link between trade and climate. “It is a space to explore how trade can generate climate action, a topic of great interest to Brazil,” Chagas noted.

Liliam Chagas also highlighted important policy innovations, including the recognition of Afro-descendant groups as vulnerable, the strengthened role of indigenous lands as protectors of carbon sinks, and the inclusion of representatives from local communities in the process, the result of efforts carried out outside the official track.

Fossil fuels

Commenting on the process, Minister of the Environment Marina Silva noted that President Lula’s public stance strengthened the mitigation agenda and made it possible to integrate it with adaptation.

“We cannot adapt indefinitely, but it is impossible to think only about mitigation without considering the needs of vulnerable people who require financial resources, technological resources, and, above all, solidarity to be able to cope with the great hardships and suffering they are already experiencing,” Silva pointed out.

The minister noted that wealthy countries already have their own paths for phasing out fossil fuels, while poor, developing, or oil-dependent countries do not. She therefore stressed the importance of creating conditions for “these countries to build their foundations after more than 30 years of waiting for answers on how to break their dependence on fossil fuels.”

She also noted that the work includes the transition toward ending deforestation: “Only Brazil has this goal and its roadmap, but we want everyone to have the foundations to make these efforts.”

Silva also highlighted the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a financial mechanism that moves beyond a donation-based model and creates ways for public resources invested in protecting forests and biodiversity to leverage private investment.

Legacy

When asked by journalists about the legacy of COP30, Silva said the conference broadened public understanding of climate change. She also highlighted contributions to the debate drawn from the knowledge and experience of Amazonian populations, who face isolation, logistical challenges, and limited access to food, water, and medicine.

“The Amazon not only receives a legacy, but offers a legacy,” the minister emphasized.

“We offered the best we had, and the best we had were our landscapes, our acoustic, visual, and pictorial beauties. The Amazon is an explosion of life and beauty that becomes a distraction whenever we look elsewhere,” said Silva.