The application of ancestral and academic knowledge related to sociobioeconomy, developed by 18 indigenous and non-indigenous researchers over 16 months in the Amazon, is expected to soon have a strategic partnership with the Association of Amazonian Universities (UNAMAZ). During the presentation of the four research notebooks of the Saberes Sociobio project, at the UNAMAZ Pavilion, the Pro Tempore President of the Association, Professor José Seixas Lourenço, invited the members of the initiative to collaborate with universities in the Pan-Amazon region represented by the institution.

“UNAMAZ and the BioTec-Amazônia Association are at your disposal to develop joint actions. BioTec-Amazônia has 50 entrepreneurial researchers involved in scientific research, and UNAMAZ brings together 80 universities, research institutes and Third Sector institutions in this partnership for the sustainable development of the Amazon,” highlighted Professor Seixas Lourenço.

Floriana Breyer, a member of the research group, explained that the project was developed by a collective formed by Mangará Sustentabilidade, Biodiversas Lab, and Escritório Marinello, with support from the Vale Technological Institute, BioTec-Amazônia, and the Amazon Institute of Technology (AMIT). “The Saberes Sociobio project is being launched at a historic moment at COP 30 in Brazil. Bioeconomy and sociobioeconomy were widely debated topics, and we discussed how innovation processes need to happen for a truly inclusive bioeconomy to exist, with added value and benefit sharing,” she stated.

The Saberes Sociobio group brings together publications on climate change, gender, and financing, as well as a volume dedicated to methodology and other dimensions of research. The group's objective is to understand how ancestral and academic knowledge can produce new knowledge and generate cutting-edge innovation for an inclusive bioeconomy. The creation of Inter-knowledge Laboratories in research institutes and universities is one of the project's goals.

“UNAMAZ made an irresistible invitation to integrate these laboratories into a pan-Amazonian strategy, with the various universities that are part of the Association. We are very excited about this possibility and will work together to design how this will develop,” Floriana highlighted.

Indigenous researcher Elizângela Baré, from the Baré ethnic group in the Upper Rio Negro region (Amazonas state), emphasized that Saberes Sociobio promotes "the connection between indigenous sciences and academic sciences so that we can promote well-being." According to her, "well-being is understanding that our relationship with the territory, water, air, and forest is one. When we talk about sustainable well-being, we also think about those who cannot speak: the plants, the trees, the rivers. They are essential for life," she stressed.