Researchers presented this Friday (26), at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the Belém Letter, a document that brings together contributions from more than 120 scientists from 22 national and international research networks. The text was read at the meeting 'Amazon Connections: Science and Network for COP 30' and will be a reference for the UN Climate Conference (COP30), which will take place in November in the capital of Pará.

The event coordinator, Professor Leandro Juen (CISAM/INCT-SinBiAm and PPBio AmOr.), highlighted the diversity of the initiative. "For the first time, we were able to bring together, in a single space, representatives of the main scientific networks operating in the Amazon. This is more than representation: it is diversity, it is collective strength."

One of the topics under discussion is socioecological monitoring and the integration of the PELD-AmOr, Flora-AmOr, and PPBio-AmOr projects, which work to produce long-term data on biodiversity and land-use change in the Eastern Amazon. Another topic is INCT-SinBiAm, with discussions on databases, ecological modeling, the impacts of climate change, and the training of young scientists.

According to SYNERGIZE, the Amazon is the region of the country that receives the least investment in biodiversity research. Asymmetries are equally pronounced within the biome itself, since major urban centers concentrate a larger share of investments. In a policy brief, the group presents a number of recommendations to overcome the limitations of ecological research in the Amazon, such as TAOCA – a national data platform aimed at expanding and consolidating ecological knowledge on Amazonian biodiversity.

The event, led by the Synergize/SinBiose project, also included the launch of the TAOCA platform with biodiversity data from the Amazon.

Scientists, public managers and those interested in developing research on the biodiversity of the Amazon have at their disposal a new standardized database on the theme. This is the Taoca database, presented in Belém-Pará during the workshop of the Synergize project, which brought together researchers and representatives of governmental and non-governmental institutions on October 27, 28 and 29.