Protecting the Amazon is not only in the hands of governments, companies, and organizations working in the region. Everyday choices made by citizens around the world also influence supply chains, financial flows, and political decisions that can either drive deforestation or strengthen forest conservation.
“Consumption in regions such as East Asia, Europe, and the Americas is directly linked to deforestation in the Amazon. The forest feels the impact of decisions made on the other side of the world. Even small steps to reduce pressure on the climate and forests can make a difference,” said Olivia Zerbini, researcher at IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute), in the third and final episode of the Living Library series, released today at the Brazil-China Forests and Nature Symposium in Beijing, China.
The episode will also be screened on September 22 at “Climate Crossroads 2026 – Resilient Rural Systems: Regenerative Agriculture, Carbon and Finance”, a panel organized by IPAM in partnership with Instituto O Mundo Que Queremos as part of New York Climate Week.
Five ways to turn everyday choices into concrete action for the protection of the Amazon
1. Choose products with responsible sourcing commitments
Products associated with deforestation risk deserve particular attention, as consumer choices help shape markets. Whenever possible, choose products backed by responsible sourcing commitments, and support initiatives that promote transparent supply chains.
2. Demand transparency and traceability
Prioritize products with reliable certification labels and demand transparency from companies and governments about where products come from. While no system is perfect, some certification schemes can help identify more responsible practices.
Knowing where products come from is one way to prevent supply chains linked to deforestation from remaining hidden. IPAM research shows that, in undesignated public forests in the Amazon, 78% of areas affected by land grabbing were converted to pasture. This underscores the need for robust traceability systems. Undesignated public forests are lands under the jurisdiction of state or federal governments that await designation as a specific land category, such as protected areas, Indigenous lands, and extractive reserves.
3. Know where your money goes
The financial sector’s decisions also directly influence the future of the Amazon. That is why it is important to understand how your bank, pension fund, or investment managers are putting your money to work.
Financing can either drive activities that increase pressure on the forest or support mechanisms that reward those who protect it, such as payments for ecosystem services and other initiatives that place value on keeping forests standing. This support should follow a basic principle of climate justice: countries that have contributed the most to climate change should contribute proportionally more to protecting ecosystems such as the Amazon.
4. Support Indigenous and local community economies
Research shows that Indigenous peoples and local communities help store carbon, keep forests alive and maintain essential climate functions, including the rainfall that sustains our crops. One way to contribute is to support economic models that prioritize conservation, including community-based production and sustainable forest products.
It is also important to support policies that protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Partnering with indigenous-led and grassroots economies is one of the approaches with the strongest scientific support for protecting forests while also promoting local development.
5. Use your political voice
Questioning where products come from is one way to put pressure on major producers, which can lead to stronger transparency and traceability policies and strengthen compliance mechanisms throughout supply chains.
Political participation goes beyond elections. It is also expressed through our consumption habits, conversations, demands to companies and governments, and the values we choose to stand for.
About Amazoniar
Amazoniar is an IPAM initiative that aims to broaden the global dialogue on the Amazon. Since 2021, the initiative has brought issues to a wider audience, from the impacts of Brazil-Europe trade relations on the forest to youth engagement for the forest and its peoples during elections. The goal is to democratize access to information and encourage everyone to take part in protecting the world’s largest tropical rainforest.
Aiming to bring the Amazon beyond its borders, Amazoniar has developed special projects, including a photography contest, whose selected works were exhibited on the streets of Glasgow, Scotland, during COP26; a short film series featured in the “Fruturos – Amazônia do Amanhã” exhibition at the Museu do Amanhã in Rio de Janeiro; video interviews with representatives of traditional communities during negotiations over the Mercosur–European Union Free Trade Agreement; and the documentary “The Chief’s Call” about the legacy of Chief Raoni Metuktire.