UNEP FI-backed Living Amazon Mechanism channels capital into bioeconomy

The UNEP FI-backed Living Amazon Mechanism (LAM) offers a blended-finance model directing private capital into Brazil's Amazon bioeconomy while de-risking investment. Aligned with Target 19 of the Global Biodiversity Framework, it provides Indian financial institutions a replicable blueprint for scaling biodiversity-aligned investment ahead of COP30.

The Living Amazon Mechanism (LAM), developed through the Revenues for Nature (R4N) initiative involving the Green Finance Institute Hive, UNDP's BIOFIN, and UNEP Finance Initiative, directs private finance into Brazil's Amazon biome while de-risking bioeconomy investment. It aligns with Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls for mobilising financial resources from all sources to safeguard nature. The model gains traction as momentum builds toward COP30 in Belém, Brazil, billed as the "COP of Solutions."

Rural cooperatives engaged in non-timber forest product value chains such as açaí, cocoa, and palm heart are directly affected, alongside Indigenous Peoples and local communities who are key biodiversity stewards. LAM is structured around two components: a concessional credit facility offering below-market loans to cooperatives, and an enabling-conditions facility delivering grant-funded technical support to enhance institutional capacity. Financial institutions are affected by barriers including small transaction sizes, limited collateral, unclear land tenure, and long return horizons that LAM directly addresses.

Financial institutions should monitor how LAM shifts the paradigm from grants to investment by de-risking capital and proving the economic viability of forest-friendly businesses. UNEP FI highlights LAM as a working prototype adaptable to other ecosystems including the Congo Basin, Southeast Asia, and Central America. Its Principles for Responsible Banking and associated guidance help banks integrate nature-positive models into mainstream finance. With COP30 approaching, stakeholders should track LAM as a ready-to-scale solution for meeting biodiversity targets.

Key figure — Alignment: LAM mapped to Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework