Technology Solutions for Supply Chain Traceability in the Brazilian Amazon: Opportunities for the Financial Sector

The Amazon is reaching a point that may be irreversible, in which its biome, and with it the global climate, will suffer irreparable damage, negatively impacting not only local communities, but also entire regions and industries.

In this article, the Igarapé Institute analyzes challenges around illegal deforestation and recommends measures that, when supported and adopted by financial institutions, will have a rapid, effective and large-scale impact on the control of illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. To this end, the article analyzes current practices in standards and benchmarking for soy farming, livestock and timber extraction. Although the financial sector has started the process of adopting policies against deforestation, few institutions make them mandatory for loan contracts or actively monitor them.

This article also highlights some of the key technologies that support greater traceability of the supply chains needed to measure progress on ESG metrics. Remote sensing, big data and artificial intelligence now offer unprecedented ability to track specific environmental impacts of properties, licenses and concessions.

 

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