A new cycle of seminars organized by the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará (MPEG) with support from the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) was launched in Belém, Brazil, on 5 May.
Bringing together researchers from MPEG, the Federal University of Pará, CIFOR-ICRAF Brazil, local journalists, Indigenous leaders and representatives from the Pará government and civil society, the first ComCiência seminar focused on three key themes: financing for climate change mitigation and impact reduction, the UNFCCC COP30 as a catalyst for climate solutions in the Brazilian Amazon and climate justice and territorial sustainability.
“CIFOR-ICRAF is an international research organization that aims to complement and support the longstanding efforts of local research institutions in advancing science in the Amazon,” said Alison Castilho, CIFOR-ICRAF’s territorial coordinator in Belém, during the event’s opening.
“By partnering with key institutions like the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará, we seek to foster dialogue, share evidence, and ensure local communities are engaged in decisions that affect their territories,” Castilho added.
Saulo Souza, coordinator of CIFOR-ICRAF’s research program in Brazil, presented findings on the role of forests and agroforestry in climate change mitigation. “There are no simple solutions to the complex problems we face,” Souza said. “But from an economic perspective, preventing deforestation is the most effective action with the highest mitigation potential.”
Indigenous leaders Irakadju Ka’apór and Valdeci Tembé emphasized the importance of respecting Indigenous Peoples’ autonomy in carbon market initiatives and upholding their right to free, prior and informed consultation.
Panelists highlighted the Amazon’s complex social and ecological landscape, stressing the need for integrated forest restoration that delivers legal, cultural, and biodiversity benefits alongside social gains.
Founded in 1866, the Emílio Goeldi Museum of Pará is one of Brazil’s leading scientific and cultural institutions. It conducts interdisciplinary research in the natural and social sciences, with facilities that include a research campus, a zoo and botanical park and a scientific station in the Caxiuanã National Forest (Marajó, Pará). The museum operates under Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The ComCiência Dialogues will continue through November 2025, contributing to national and regional discussions in the lead-up to COP30, which will be hosted in Belém.
