The world’s tropical rainforests are burning, cut, looted, mined and fragmented, but scraps of hope remain. The Science Panel for the Amazon released their report at the top of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP30, in Belém, Brazil, this week. The report assessed the Amazon and, for the first time ever, the Congo Basin and Borneo. Together, the studies form the most comprehensive examination yet of the world’s three largest tropical biomes. And their findings are grim, which should come as little surprise. What stands out, though, is the inherent optimism the authors seemed to share by including a detailed set of recommendations and 30 calls to action.
“It is at once a sober warning and an enormously constructive roadmap,” Jeffrey Sachs writes in a foreword to the report. Dr. Sachs heads the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which oversees the Science Panel for the Amazon.
Four threats
The report outlines four major threats.
First, the Amazon is degrading environmentally and the land is fragmenting. About 300 million hectares are already fragmented, which harms wildlife, weakens ecosystems, and threatens people’s safety.
Second, illegal mining, logging, and land grabs are spreading. These crimes destroy forests, incite violence, and damage local economies.
Third, border areas are in conflict and poorly regulated. Tri-border zones have become centers of crime and environmental loss.
Fourth, the region may be nearing a point of no return. Land-use changes and climate pressure are turning large areas into dry grassland, reducing the forest’s ability to store carbon, support life, and regulate the planet’s climate.
Without quick action, the authors warn, the Amazon could devolve into total system failure. The result would undermine the planet’s climate stability, and threaten the lives of millions.
Lifelines
The lifelines the report holds out are in the roadmap Dr. Sachs mentioned. Solutions already exist, SDSN and regional science panels argue. They are calling for a range of actions, many of which are predictable to people who have been paying attention. Some pay special attention to the plight and nacent power of the region’s Indigenous communities. The report calls for halting deforestation and wildfires, dismantling black markets and other economic crime, expanding Indigenous territories and protected areas, and blending scientific research with Indigenous and local knowledge to guide restoration.
The authors make 30 calls to action. Mixed in with the big ones like ending forest degradation, there are other solid ideas that could interest engineers and anyone in the sustainable development community. These are a few.
CtA 13: Monitor Collaboratively and Share Data Among Amazonian Countries
The Amazon faces shared threats like deforestation, fires, and pollution, yet countries monitor them with disconnected systems that limit regional action. Data on water, soil, and biodiversity remain scarce and poorly integrated across borders. Building a coordinated, transboundary monitoring network is essential for stronger early warning systems, better policymaking, and more effective conservation.
CtA 24: Build Equitable Global Supply Chains for Amazonian Biodiversity Products
Global demand for Amazonian biodiversity products offers a chance to grow local enterprises that depend on healthy forests and rivers. Yet weak regulation, limited local processing, and market volatility often leave Indigenous and local communities with few benefits and greater risks. Building fair, well-regulated supply chains that recognize their rights and knowledge is essential for sustainable production and forest protection.
CtA 28: Establish a Network of Innovation Hubs
Innovation hubs could underpin new value chains that uplift indigenous communities in the Amazon. The Amazon economy depends on exports of beef, soy, gold, and forest products like açaà and Brazil nuts, that add little value locally. This extractive model fuels deforestation and deepens poverty, while Indigenous peoples who have long shaped its biodiversity gain few benefits. Building stronger ties between rural and urban communities could help create fairer, more sustainable value chains.
CtA 29: Promote Locally-Driven Technology Development
In the Amazon, technology can either deepen inequality and erode Indigenous knowledge or strengthen sovereignty and support fair, community-led conservation. Tools such as satellite monitoring, acoustic monitoring, camera traps, environmental DNA, and AI are transforming how ecosystems are studied and protected. Their success depends on equity, transparency, and the full participation of Indigenous and local communities in shaping how technology is used.
Data-driven leadership
Expectations are low for diplomatic leadership at COP30, but evidence and data can drive a different kind of leadership. This report explains the problem and its solutions, which, at the end of the day, is the way to start. Read the 2025 Amazon Assessment Report.
