The simple idea that could change the Amazon’s economy: rematar

For decades, the Amazon rainforest was cleared to make room for cattle pasture, mining, or timber extraction. It was a disastrous occupation plan that left behind vast abandoned and degraded areas and an economy driven far more by land speculation than by innovation or productivity. The result is well known. A huge damaged territory that fails to generate lasting wealth and continues to push pressure onto the surrounding forest. But what if the solution lies precisely in these already cleared areas? A study by the Amazônia 2030 project puts forward an idea that is both simple and powerful. Instead of continuing to expand into the forest, Brazil should focus on “rematar” the areas that have already been deforested but are now abandoned or underused. Rematar means restoring these lands and transforming them into modern productive systems, including agroforestry, perennial crops, forest restoration, commodities compatible with the forest, and even carbon markets. The analysis To Protect the Amazon Forest, We Must Rematar Deforested Areas shows that the Amazon has the scale to do this and that Brazil has the conditions and expertise to put the plan into practice. Over the past decades, about 85 million hectares of forest have been cleared in the region. A significant share of this land is now abandoned or underutilized. Within this territory, around 35 million hectares have already been mapped and could be restored and used productively without affecting soy or cattle production. Today, Amazon-based producers already generate about US$7.2 billion per year from forest-compatible products such as açaí, cocoa, cassava, and bananas. Even so, the region captures less than 3% of a global market worth about US$233 billion connected to these products. In other words, there is demand, there is a market, and there is land available. What is missing is turning this opportunity into a serious development strategy. The debate about the future of the Amazon often gets trapped in an old conflict. On one side are those who defend protecting the forest. On the other are those who argue that the region needs to generate income and jobs. Rematar shows that these two goals can move together. When degraded land is restored and begins producing cocoa, coffee, açaí, or sustainably managed timber, the forest gains economic value. This creates local income, strengthens productive chains, and reduces the incentive to clear new areas. Instead of relying on activities that degrade the territory, the region can build an economy based on land recovery, forest production, and new markets such as carbon and the bioeconomy. But this will not happen by itself. The study shows that three challenges must be addressed for this transformation to take place. Land insecurity must be resolved, access to long-term financing must expand, and investment in technology and training is needed for more advanced productive systems. Public coordination will also be necessary. Not to replace the market, but to create the conditions for new businesses to grow. Major economic transformations rarely begin with complicated ideas. More often they begin with something simple that changes the way we look at a problem. If this idea gains scale, Brazil could turn an environmental liability into a new foundation for development. And perhaps that will be the most important innovation of all. *Gustavo Nascimento is Black, a black belt, a journalist, and a project coordinator at O Mundo que Queremos. Mais Lidas