The initiative will support community-based actions in eight regions of the Legal Amazon, focusing on bioeconomy, territorial protection and institutional strengthening.
LIRA Fund – Integrated Legacy of the Amazon Region – has just announced the esults of its most recent call for proposals, selecting 53 projects led by communities in the Legal Amazon. A total of R$7 million will be invested in initiatives that combine community businesses with bioeconomy, territorial protection against deforestation and fire, and institutional strengthening of associations and cooperatives of traditional populations.
The approved proposals were submitted by Indigenous, extractivist, and quilombola associations, as well as cooperatives, and cover eight strategic Amazon regions within the arc of deforestation spanning six states. The LIRA team defined the regions through studies that assessed the degree of threat, management effectiveness, and production potential.
The results of the call reflect the region’s sociocultural and ecological diversity, as well as the local communities’ ability to propose concrete solutions to environmental and social challenges, aiming to keep the forest standing. “The selected projects demonstrate the power of local solutions. Communities understand their territories, their production cycles, and their challenges. The role of the LIRA Fund is precisely to support and enable these solutions, which already exist but often face a lack of resources or visibility,” says Fabiana Prado, manager of the LIRA Fund.
Most projects focus on structuring sustainable production chains, such as artisanal fishing, fish farming, pirarucu management, community-based tourism, vegetable oil production, handicrafts, melliculture, nut production, açaí, cocoa, timber, rubber, flour, and herbal medicines. Other proposals invest in the organization of community fire prevention and fighting brigades, territorial surveillance and strengthening community development.
The selected entities include 24 community associations, 20 indigenous associations, four cooperatives, four quilombola associations, and one collective. The call for proposals received broad participation and mobilized hundreds of organizations operating in priority territories for conservation and socio-environmental justice.
The LIRA Fund is an initiative of IPÊ – the Ecological Research Institute, supported by donors such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Its goal is to foster projects that combine environmental conservation, social inclusion, bioeconomy, and territorial strengthening in the Amazon, working directly with founding organizations.
The public call mobilized over 120 organizations from Legal Amazon. With the available resources, it was possible to support 43% of the proposals received, with amounts of up to R$150,000 (approximately US$25,000) per project. The diversity of themes, regions, and audiences involved demonstrates the transformative potential of direct financing models, which place Amazonian territories at the center of conservation solutions. “Preserving the forest involves empowering those who work there every day. When support reaches communities directly, the results are more deeply rooted, lasting, and connected to the local reality,” says Fabiana Prado.
