Rethinking the Amazon and Its Marketing Ahead of COP30
Ahead of COP30, it’s time to stop treating Amazon like a postcard and start facing its complicated reality.
What comes to mind when you hear the word “Amazon”?
I think of green forests, burning trees, illegal mining, perhaps even exotic animals or activist slogans. To be honest, for myself and many, the Amazon has been a “thing”, a one-dimensional symbol of either environmental crisis or untouched wilderness. But as Daniel Nardin put it during his presentation at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, “For us, it is our home. We live between cities and forests.”
That perspective rarely reaches the global climate stage. It should. The narrow branding hides a far more complex, human, and politically entangled reality. As COP30 approaches, now is the moment to challenge that framing.
A complex reality beyond the forest
The Amazon is not just a forest, and it is certainly not just Brazil. Within it, there are over 3 million species and five distinct ecological regions. While Brazil contains the majority of its territory, nine countries share the biome. Even within Brazil’s Amazon, there are major differences between regions, cities, and communities. For instance, while the Forested Brazilian Amazon retains 96% of its original forest cover, the Deforested Amazon, which accounts for only 11%of the territory, has lost 66% of its native forest and is home to more than 9 million people. These stark contrasts reveal how unevenly the impacts of environmental change are distributed. Yet the dominant narrative reduces it all to a lush green backdrop for political speeches and NGO campaigns.
This oversimplification ignores the socio-economic challenges faced by Amazonian communities. The Deforested Amazon, for instance, is marked by high poverty rates, with many residents relying on subsistence agriculture or informal economies. Urban centres like Santarém face inadequate healthcare and education, compounded by environmental degradation from nearby logging and mining activities.
Meanwhile, rural and Indigenous communities often lack legal recognition of their land rights, making them vulnerable to land grabbing and illegal deforestation. A study by the journal Nature found a 129% increase in deforestation within Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon between 2013 and 2021.
Controversies in Belém
At the heart of this simplification lies a marketing strategy that glosses over the lives of 30 million Amazonians, 80% of whom live in cities. One of those cities is Belém, the host of COP30. Despite being rebranded with a new slogan as “The Capital of the Amazon,” Belém reflects many of the region’s unresolved issues. Firstly, the region’s GDP per capita is 50% lower than the national average. Basic sanitation access in the Amazon stands at just 45%, compared to 83% nationally. Moreover, only 58 percent of people have access to clean water.
Several controversies have emerged, highlighting the tension between image-driven development and genuine sustainability. One contentious project involves the installation of artificial “hanging gardens” in downtown Belém. These decorative structures, intended to symbolise environmental commitment, have been criticised as a form of greenwashing. Posts on X have called them “fake trees,” pointing out the irony of prioritising aesthetics over real ecological restoration in a region surrounded by actual rainforests.
Sanitation works in Belém have also sparked debate. The city has invested heavily in downtown infrastructure, including a $140 million contract with Ciclus Amazônia for waste management and canal restructuring. However, these efforts largely neglect the outskirts, where 16% of residents lack adequate sanitation. The Tucunduba River, flowing through Belém’s periphery, remains heavily polluted, with herons landing on piles of trash.
The construction of the Avenida Liberdade highway, a 13-km road cutting through a protected Amazon rainforest area, has drawn particular outrage. Critics argue it contradicts COP30’s environmental goals, with scientists warning that it will fragment ecosystems and disrupt wildlife.
A call for authentic representation and progress
COP30 offers a chance to reframe the Amazon, not as a symbol, but as a lived reality for millions of people. The conference can move beyond superficial branding by amplifying local voices and addressing urban inequalities.
Despite the challenges, there is good news. Deforestation efforts are gaining traction, with Brazil reporting a 36% drop in primary forest loss in 2023 compared to 2022. The state of Pará, home to Belém, signed a $180 million agreement with the LEAF Coalition to fund emissions reductions through deforestation prevention, aligning with global standards like REDD+. These efforts show progress is possible when policies prioritise conservation and community involvement.
Amplifying these voices through the media also plays a crucial role in fostering public policies and combating climate misinformation, especially following the Global Initiative for Climate Information Integrity launch in late 2024 by UNESCO, the UN, and the Brazilian government. Projects like Daniel Nardin’s Amazônia Vox platform, which builds a database of Amazonian sources and freelancers, empower local journalists to tell authentic stories. By connecting global audiences with the realities of the Amazon, such initiatives ensure that the voices of those who call it home, like the 30 million Amazonians and Indigenous leaders shaping COP30, are heard loud and clear.