Science Weekly Revisited: How to save the Amazon episode two: the magic and mystery
9 snips
Nov 6, 2025 Carina Pimenta, Brazil's National Secretary of Bioeconomy, shares insights on integrating biodiversity into national policies and the economic value of standing forests. Marcelo Salazar, founder of the startup Mazomaná, discusses empowering communities by developing market products from traditional Amazon ingredients. Together, they explore the complexities of sustainable bioeconomy practices, the significance of indigenous knowledge, and the urgent need to innovate ways to protect the Amazon while preserving its cultural heritage.
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Night Walk Through A Luminous Forest
- Jon Watts describes a night walk hunting bioluminescent fungi beneath a Brazil nut tree that felt magical and otherworldly.
- The group found glowing fungi and a luminescent-headed lizard, making the experience vivid and persuasive about the forest's mystery.
Unpriced Ecosystem Services Drive Market Failure
- The Amazon provides huge unpriced ecosystem services like carbon storage and rainfall that markets fail to capture.
- Claudio Angelo argues this market failure subsidises cattle ranching and drives deforestation by hiding social costs.
Standing Forests Often Outvalue Cleared Land
- Researchers and economists now value standing forest more because of sustainable yields and ecosystem services.
- Joss Barlow says scientifically the forest is more valuable standing, but political and economic choices determine outcomes.
