Marajó Resiliente: Community-Led Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaptation in the Amazon Delta

The Marajó Archipelago, in the Amazon Delta, hosts some of Brazil’s most vulnerable rural populations, whose livelihoods are increasingly threatened by sea-level rise, extreme tidal floods, drought periods, and soil salinization. At the same time, the region harbors rich socio-ecological knowledge and diverse agroforestry systems developed by Indigenous, Quilombola, and traditional riverine communities. These systems, locally adapted and multifunctional, represent a powerful—yet underutilized—pathway to conserve biodiversity while strengthening climate resilience and food security. Building on the evidence and operational experience generated by the Marajó Resiliente project, this contribution will explore how locally driven agroforestry solutions can bridge scientific research, biodiversity conservation practice, and decision-making processes at municipal and regional levels.
The project documents and expands four climate-adapted agroforestry models capable of restoring degraded lands, buffering hydro-climatic disturbances, and enhancing ecosystem services—including erosion control, freshwater regulation, and habitat restoration for native species such as açaí, bacuri, buriti, and andiroba. By combining ecological monitoring, participatory diagnosis, and community-led design, the initiative demonstrates how traditional ecological knowledge can be integrated with scientific assessments to enable more biodiversity-positive forest management.
Beyond field implementation, the project strengthens collective governance, producer associations, and women-led agroforestry initiatives, enabling smallholder families to diversify production and access markets and public credit lines—historically out of reach due to social vulnerability and geographic isolation. This integrated model has stimulated municipal debates and informed local policy instruments for ecosystem-based adaptation and sustainable forest use.
In this session, we will present lessons on how bridging research, community expertise, and institutional practice can generate actionable solutions for biodiversity conservation in forest landscapes facing rapid climate change. By showcasing methods, tools, and case studies from Marajó, we aim to contribute to global discussions on inclusive, evidence-based forest governance and the expansion of Indigenous- and community-led models that safeguard biodiversity while improving livelihoods.