Doing research in the Amazon means that, in order to present results that bring development and a better life to the population that is part of the biome, there is a need for investment to deal with the conditions in which the institutions focused on in this work are inserted. By 2024, for example, at least R$246 million are needed in resources to be transferred to just three of the various centers for the production of knowledge in the region: the Bionorte Network, the Guamá Science and Technology Park (PCT) and the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará (MPEG).

There are several sources of funding, including the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), which has a budget of R$418 million for the whole of the Amazon this year. Although the amount is 81% higher than that made available in 2023, it is still not enough to fill all the gaps in research in the region. The devaluation suffered by professionals, the lack of equipment, unmaintained structures, a shortfall in incentive grants and outdated laboratories continue to be part of the institutions' routine and put the brakes on projects that could contribute to the growth of the biome.

Compared to other parts of Brazil, the Amazon has also suffered from the differences, despite being the most biodiverse region in the world and home to the largest rainforest on the planet. Data from the Special Secretariat for Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic and the MCTI show that, in 2011, the North had 4.5% of Brazil's doctors, a figure that fell to 3.2% in 2019. Between 2006 and 2022, the article Brazilian Public Funding for biodiversity research in the Amazon shows that the biome received only 10% of federal subsidies to fund studies.

Scholarships

Recently, Bionorte, a scientific research network created in 2008, which brings together 43 institutions across the nine states of the Legal Amazon - Amazonas, Acre, Rondônia, Roraima, Pará, Maranhão, Amapá, Tocantins and Mato Grosso - was awarded a 100% increase in grants from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes). The incentive is part of the Ministry of Education's (MEC) initiatives to promote research in the country. By 2023, R$218.2 million had been earmarked for postgraduate studies in the region.

In total, there are 7,200 master's, doctoral and post-doctoral scholarships for the Amazonian states in strategic and institutional programs, but entities like Bionorte have not yet had all their students covered, another factor that could hinder research: the network has 446 post-graduate students in all its units, 108 of whom receive incentives from Capes. However, Sandro Percário, the institution's general coordinator, says that the increase received has already reached those who are not employed or do not receive any financial resources. “This is very important because of the distances in the Amazon.”

"Our students have to travel in canoes and boats to arrive a few days later in the capital where [the course] is offered. Until February 2022, we only had 45 Capes scholarship quotas for a contingent of around 440 PhD students. This represented 10% of the total. In 2023, there was a rearrangement and Bionorte had 54. Still, far short of our needs at the time. Our role is very important in terms of trying to train high quality human resources, at doctoral level, to boost the socio-economic development of the region," adds Sandro.

Biodiversity and bioeconomy to strengthen the Amazon

The focus of Bionorte's work is the integration of Amazonian biodiversity and biotechnology. The result of the studies is the production of bioproducts and bioprocesses that can benefit and favor society in the region. "For example, the development of a new medicine, a cosmetic, something in this way that benefits and generates economic resources from these products and processes. We are also concerned about protecting Amazonian communities and this is done through liaison with these people," explains the network's general coordinator.

Over a three-year period, Bionorte would need R$600 million to leverage these ongoing initiatives and unblock those that have stalled due to a lack of resources. The investment would go towards the infrastructure of research facilities in the region. "This amount would allow for the modernization of more than 240 laboratories in 43 institutions in the nine states of the Legal Amazon, as well as the acquisition of research supplies, in order to guarantee the completion of several projects that have stalled and the completion of others over the next three years," he emphasizes.

Scarcity

According to Sandro, last time the institution received direct investment was between 2011 and 2013. "We have a great lack of resources, although there are several projects, this is very little compared to what is needed. In 2019, the Ministry of Science and Technology invested around R$12.5 billion in the Southeast. In the north, R$800 million, less than 8%. That was all the resources for the Amazon region. The resources don't come here, which is why our research laboratories are lacking. If they did, they would ensure that we reached the level of the centers in the Southeast," he adds.

Processes need results that reach the population

The lack of resources coming into the Amazon is also a reality faced by PCT Guamá. The space was the first to start operating in the north of Brazil and its main objective is to stimulate applied research and innovative and sustainable entrepreneurship. There are more than 40 companies, 60 associates and 12 laboratories dedicated to developing processes and products. For 2024, the institution expects to begin construction of the Sustainability Space Building, estimated at R$11 million, and needs a further R$6 million for other necessary upgrades.

Milksom Campelo, manager of Business Prospecting, Transfer and Technology at the Guamá Foundation, which manages the PCT, believes that, in fact, the investments that are being made in science and technology are not sufficient for the day-to-day reality. "We live in a context in which there is a growing need for constant investment. Why? The science, technology and innovation institute has done a great job in the process of technological development, but this process is only valid when it can reach the end, can be transferred and applied," he points out.

"When it reaches this level, it begins to generate changes in the operating profile of companies in the North and Amazon region, which start to produce more concisely and sustainably, generating high-impact products and solutions. We can achieve all this through qualified investments," says Campelo. "Historically, these investments do happen. We have them at state, federal, and private levels... But even today it's a challenge, a great tool with more than 40 companies, 11 laboratories, 11,000 people circulating daily, it needs constant investment," he adds.

Challenges

Milksom lists some of the central challenges faced by the PCT in carrying out and maintaining the park's research: the lack of open processes focusing on the specific characteristics of the Amazon, the difficulties in integrating the productive sector and studies into technologies and innovation. "At the start of operations, we received a large amount of funding. Millions were invested in equipment. Today, we need to maintain this equipment and the physical spaces. For this reason, constant investment is essential," he said.

"We guarantee quality in research. It's also important that we understand that, in addition to these structural and laboratory investments, there is a strategic awareness. It's important that laboratories don't just reflect physical spaces, but are seen as key instruments for transforming regional development through innovation and technology. The more technology and research we have, the more security we will have for our means of production," Milksom concludes.

PCT laboratory has equipment out of order

The Amazonian Oils Laboratory (LOA) at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) is one of the spaces that operates and provides services within the Guamá PCT. Professor Luís Adriano Nascimento is the site's vice-coordinator and, according to him, the annual budget deficit is hampering the operation of some of the equipment. "We've received around R$210,000 [in the last three years], which is an average of R$70,000 a year from projects we've approved in public calls. We would need more, we have out-of-order equipment," he laments.

The amount of private investment that LOA has received, also in the last three years, is R$150,000. According to the vice-coordinator, much more could be done by the laboratory, but the high cost of maintaining equipment is a difficulty. “This equipment would be important to advance research even further, to innovate the generation of new products, new bioplastics, for example, new materials, other types of applications aimed at developing sustainable products. All this could be much more, if we had more resources.”

According to him, the main difficulty in continuing research in the Amazon is the lack of more state calls. "Ideally, we should not only have grants for students, but also resources to buy and repair equipment. This is one of the great difficulties we have today, the lack of resources for acquiring new equipment and for maintaining this material," adds Luís.

Goeldi museum

MPEG's budget deficit of R$15 million, the second largest in Brazil's history, is hampering its ability to make ends meet. According to Nilson Gabas Júnior, the institution's director, the ideal annual investment would be R$30 million, which would be used to produce more knowledge, products for the population, scientific education and human resources. However, only half of this has come in. "We're not able to pay our fixed costs. We've had almost two million euros cut since the Annual Budget Law was approved," he points out.

The director expects that these expenses, relating to security, payment of contractors, cleaning, scientific exhibitions and energy, will be paid by September. The museum has been receiving a fractional amount each month to cope with all the demands. "It's been quite difficult to work from the perspective that we can't maintain our outsourcing contracts, and I'm not even in a position to conduct research. We know that there are areas of knowledge and areas in which you need to produce knowledge specifically," laments Gabas.

Public policies

Despite the lack of necessary resources, Nilson points out that good results are being seen in the research carried out by MPEG. One of them is a partnership with the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Florestal e da Biodiversidade (Ideflor-Bio) [Institute for Forestry and Biodiversity Development] to update the list of endangered species in Pará. "Monitoring the list of endangered species in Pará is something that has to be done at most every four years. It hasn't been done for almost 14 years. So, at least now, in the context of the flora component, we've already signed the contract, the transfers are already being made, and the research is already starting," he says.