Brazil Nuts and the Amazon Rainforest: A Story of Sustainability, Livelihood, and Conservation

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most majestic, biodiverse, and environmentally important regions of the world. Covering an area of over 5.5 million km2 and spreading over various countries in South America, it is the largest rainforest on the globe. Located within the rainforest is the tough, delicious, and nutritional Amazonia (Brazil) nut. Over the past decades, the Brazil nut has grown to become one of the most important economic products of the Amazon[1].

Brazil nuts are harvested in the wild of the Amazon rainforest. Their trees are massive and often times rise above the canopy of the rainforest. Each tree produces a fruit that encases anywhere from 10 to 20 individual Brazil nuts. Once these fruits ripen, they fall to the forest floor, waiting to be gathered from harvesters. Efforts to cultivate the tree outside of the wild have failed as the tree requires the extensive and complex ecosystem of the Amazon to flourish and produce Brazil nuts. Consequently, the production of Brazil nuts is rarely steady and this results in unpredictable harvests. Each year, the harvest is dependent on environmental, economic and political conditions of the area. (Picture courtesy of Tahuamanu SA.)

Once Brazil nuts are harvested, they are enjoyed around the world for their delicious taste, amplifying recipes or just serving as a tasty snack. Moreover, they provide various health benefits being high in fiber, vitamin E, thiamin and minerals such as selenium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and manganese. They also contain more selenium than any other food on the planet.

Home to the Brazil nut, the Amazon rainforest currently faces some of the highest rates of deforestation as well as wildfires. In June 2020, Reuters reported that the deforestation of the rainforest could be at its worst levels in over a decade[2]. Regarding wildfires, the situation does not look any better. In July 2020, there were almost 7,000 wildfires in the rainforest, amounting to an increase of 28% compared to July 2019[3].

Furthermore, the rainforest is also threatened by “land grabbers”, which are individuals who clear paths in the Amazon for cattle pastures. Just from April 27 to September 9, 2019 alone, 2.8 thousand hectares of forest were illegally cut down[4]. Unfortunately, the expansion of cattle pasture usually takes away from Brazil nut harvesters. 

Throughout the years, the growth and harvest of Brazil nuts from the Amazon has become a key resource and through its harvesting, known as “conservation-through-use”, it has supported millions of hectares of the rainforest[5]. The growth of the Brazil nut can be directly tied to the saving of the Amazon rainforest and due to the impact not only on the conservation of the rainforest, but also the impact on the local economies and livelihoods, the Brazil nut has been referred to by some as the cornerstone of Amazon forest conservation[6].

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