


The contemporary urban landscape, characterised by rapid urbanisation rates, undeniably threatens environmental sustainability. Esteemed ecologists have highlighted the adverse impacts of urban sprawl and the concomitant loss of biodiversity. The insatiable demand for resources within urban systems places immense pressure on natural ecosystems, exacerbating issues of resource depletion and environmental degradation. As urbanisation intensifies, it becomes imperative to recognise the urgent need for a paradigm shift in urban planning and governance to mitigate the escalating environmental threats posed by current urban systems.
At present, 70% of the global GHG emissions is generated by cities, 80% of the global GDP ($70T) in 2019 is accounted for by urban areas and as of 2020, manmade mass surpassed global biomass.
Making up only 6% of the global population, Indigenous Peoples protect and steward 25% of the world’s land, which in turn protects 80% of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. The symbiotic relationship between indigenous peoples and the unique ecosystems within their territories, therefore, must play a pivotal role in nature protection, to foster a renewal of conservation strategies and collaborative governance models.
In economic terms, the value of the Amazon rainforest equates to $104T in global GDP4, estimated at about 1.5x the current global GDP. There is a $700B gap in biodiversity financing, $150T estimate of forest-based ecosystem services alone5 and a $317B total yearly value of Brazil’s standing Amazon Rainforest6. This results in a market potential of $7T of the bioeconomy in the Amazon.7

- WorldGBC, The Circular Built Environment Playbook, 2023
- World Bank, Urban Development Overview, 2021
- Elhacham, E., Ben-Uri, L., Grozovski, J. et al. Global human-made mass exceeds all living biomass. Nature 588 (2020)
- OECD, 2019. Biodiversity: Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action
- BCG, 2020. The Staggering Value of Forests – and How to Save Them
- Strand, J. 2022. “Valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.”, in World Bank, “A Balancing Act for Brazil’s Amazonian States”
- BNDES, 2021, Potencial da bioeconomia para o desenvolvimento sustentáv-el da Amazônia e possibilidades para a atuação