SEA Reflective Space for Co-Creating Prosperity: Designing Finance and Future for the Amazon
The Strategic Economic Alliance (SEA) recently convened on June 2nd, 2025 for a reflective space on the Amazon’s most pressing ecological and financial transition challenges.
On June 2nd, 2025 the Strategic Economics Alliance (SEA) hosted a compelling Reflective Space titled Co-Creating Prosperity: Designing Finance and Futures for the Amazon. The online session brought together 50 women economists and practitioners from Brazil and Mexico—many of whom previously took part in SEA’s reflective gatherings in Mexico City and Brasília.
This closed-door dialogue opened with remarks from Prof. Mariana Mazzucato (UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose) and Prof. Nirvia Ravena (NAEA–UFPa), who highlighted the need to centre ecological conservation and local agency in economic strategy for the Amazon.
Luiza Sidonio from the Brazilian Ministry of Finance introduced the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a proposed long-term financing mechanism for forest preservation. Fernanda Garavini of BNDES shared insights into the Amazon Fund’s design and implementation, focusing on how it channels resources for conservation and development.
Raimunda Nonata Monteiro (Council for Sustainable Social and Economic Development) brought a grounded regional perspective, emphasizing the structural challenges facing traditional and agricultural communities, and the importance of strengthening their leadership in project governance and funding decisions. Finally, Julie McCarthy (NatureFinance) and Edna Castro (Brazilian Society of Sociology) offered critical reflections on financialization risks, the political economy of carbon markets, and the urgent need for inclusive economic models rooted in territorial justice.
Participants then explored different pathways for transforming market structures—from extractive to equitable—and how to rethink financial instruments in ways that genuinely serve the priorities and knowledge of local communities.
This session builds on SEA’s contribution to the Principles for an Inclusive and Sustainable Global Economy, a G20 discussion paper developed with IIPP. Insights from the Amazon dialogue will feed into SEA’s case-based work on implementing these principles through real-world policies that empower local actors, promote equity, and ensure ecological integrity.
