why this mix of knowledge can help preserve biodiversity

She participated in the panel “The biodiversity crisis is a business crisis”, with climatologist Carlos Nobre and Felipe Villela, director for Latin America of The Earthshot Prize.

• Carbon credits: Can capitalism and billions from big tech save the Amazon?
• Investment of US$550 million: City Hall announces expansion of data center hub

The three spoke about how the accelerated technological evolution and scientific knowledge that we witness today can be integrated with the knowledge of indigenous peoples accumulated over generations in favor of protecting the environment and which materializes in the grandeur of the Amazon Forest itself.

CNN Brasil anchor Márcio Gomes, who led the session, recalled that Carlos Nobre was the first to warn about the risks faced by the Amazon Forest, with the advance of uncontrolled deforestation, despite the recent slowdown. The scientist updated the alarming situation regarding a biome essential for the climate balance of the entire planet:

• What does mining have to do with the future of AI? Everything, says leader of a company that innovates in the sector

— Fortunately, in practically all Amazonian countries we have had a large reduction in deforestation since 2023. In 2025, we reduced deforestation by 60% in the entire Amazon, and more than 50% in the Brazilian Amazon. This is very positive because the Amazon countries, almost all of them, Brazil leading, want to eliminate all deforestation in the Amazon by 2030. And we are heading in that direction.

But achieving this goal is not so simple and the recent past shows how this process can quickly retreat under the pressure of forces such as predatory agribusiness and illegal mining. Guajajara highlighted that there is still no understanding that the ancestral wisdom of indigenous peoples, who help conserve the forest with their culture that reveres nature, can be an ally in the search for solutions through science and technology. She expanded this concept to the triad “science, technology and ancestry”.

• 2027 Women’s World Cup: event in Brazil will also feature women as a protagonist off the field

— It is very important to think about technology not just like most people, who immediately think about cell phones, computers, satellites. When we think about Artificial intelligence (AI), it is necessary to consider the group of people behind this AI, and the water consumption for its production. With each access, with each response, you are consuming. AI is seen as a beacon for the future, but how can a beacon that points to the future consume water, which is the greatest asset we all need to guarantee life? — asked the former minister. — Water takes us back to the original meaning of what technology really is, which is also translated as knowledge applied to guarantee life.

• Brazilian billionaire: Luana Lopes Lara says at the Web Summit that Kalshi wants to arrive in Brazil and promises dialogue with the government after veto

‘The Amazon is the result of a way of life’

The deputy stated that it is possible to understand the meaning of the word ancestry in this context with images of the daily lives of the original peoples of Brazil:

— It’s bathing in the river, managing the forests, which indigenous peoples have been doing for millennia. Even before any digital era and Brazil being Brazil, indigenous peoples built the Amazon, which has never been as biodiverse as it is today. We didn’t build the great pyramids of Egypt, we didn’t produce the beauties of Machu Picchu. The contribution of indigenous peoples to Brazil and the world is in the largest tropical forest in the world. It is our Amazon, the result of the way of life of indigenous peoples who, in their transit, took seeds, took knowledge, took seedlings from all biomes and produced this great forest that is a World Heritage Site — he highlighted.

Currently, the protection of forests in Brazil has been highlighted with the revelation of initiatives that combine technology and knowledge of the earth by the Earthshot Prize, as noted by Gomes. The award, established in 2020 by Prince William, heir to the British Crown, values ​​environmental solutions on a global scale. Felipe Villela collaborates with this curation and detailed the interaction:

— We see every day that innovation and regeneration can go hand in hand. Every year we select solutions capable of protecting and restoring nature. From cleaning the air, restoring the oceans, eliminating waste and tackling climate change.

• Web Summit Rio 2026: Brazil is at risk of becoming dependent on foreign AI, experts warn

‘Nature is the invisible infrastructure of the economy’

He recalled that, in 2025, the award was granted to the TFFF (Tropical Forests Forever Fund), a Brazilian initiative approved at COP 30, last year, in Belém, Pará, which channels resources to protect vegetation and generates returns for investors. For him, this initiative shows that the standing forest is more valuable than destroyed, creating permanent incentives for conservation and benefiting indigenous peoples and local communities.

— TFFF reminds us that the solution to the climate crisis will come from the combination of science, traditional knowledge, innovation, financing and collaboration. Nature is the invisible infrastructure of the global economy. Protecting this infrastructure is the best investment we can make for future generations. We already have the science to understand the problem, we already have the solutions, which work. What is missing now is scale, investment and courage to act.

Some initiatives that represent the integration between traditional knowledge, science and human resources for the benefit of biodiversity were listed by Villela:

— In addition to the public sector, the private sector plays a fundamental role in purchasing products from the standing forest, such as coffee from the Paiter Suruí people, chestnuts, cocoa and açaí. Philanthropy tries to mobilize families and companies to support this economic transition in communities. There are many technology solutions to monitor forests and mitigate fire risks and anticipate this major impact that can have on communities.

He also cited other “inspiring technologies” such as Lidar, which monitors forests to understand the productivity potential of fruit and nut trees. Embrapa uses Lidar in Brazil to monitor chestnut trees, cocoa trees and other species, such as the palm tree that produces açaí. Sensors help identify the productive potential of these trees and carry out financial prospecting to create a market for these products.

— The technology for monitoring, verifying, this data and the standing forest can boost the preservation of these territories, but also the business model of these communities — detailed Villela.

Coverage of the Web Summit Rio 2026 at Editora Globo is presented by Itaú