Science Across Generations: A Dialogue Series
Key findings from Chapters 27, 28 and 29 of the 2021 Amazon Assessment Report
Written by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)
What happens when experienced Amazon researchers sit down with the next generation of scientists? You get honest conversations about the tough choices facing the Living Amazon—and some surprising insights about what actually works.
Our second “Science Across Generations” webinar brought together SPA experts, Dr. Dolors Armenteras and Dr. Federico Viscarra, with Youth Advisory Committee members, João Pedro Braga, Gustavo Nascimento, Alejandra Gonzales, and Criseyda Román to dig into Chapters 27-29 of the 2021 Amazon Assessment Report.
The Hard Truth About Amazon Threats -
Dolors opened with a reality check: there are nine major threats hitting the Amazon simultaneously—deforestation, mining, illegal logging, overfishing, and more. But, here's the kicker: these threats don't happen in isolation. They pile on top of each other, making everything worse. The Amazon's problems are too complex for simple solutions. We need everything from new economic models to global policy changes, and we need them working together.
Restoration - Last Resort, Not First Choice: Federico delivered one of the session's most important messages: restoration should be our backup plan, not our main strategy. It's expensive, complicated, and frankly, we're still figuring out how to do it right. The research shows restoration can work—from cleaning up mining sites to bringing back degraded forests—but the real win is preventing damage in the first place. Old growth forests are still much more effective in ecosystem services than newly-planted ones, so keeping those on the ground yields much better results than counting on restored ones.
Q&A - The YAC members didn't hold back with the tough questions: Criseyda wanted to know: What's actually stopping local communities from leading conservation efforts? And how can young researchers help break down these barriers? Gustavo posed the funding dilemma we all face: When money's tight and communities need food, healthcare, and education now, how do you prioritize long-term environmental work? The group also tackled bigger picture questions: Can restoration become profitable enough for communities to sustain? How do we move beyond just talking between governments to creating real, biome-wide monitoring systems?
The Economics of Actually Doing This -
Here's where things got practical. Everyone agreed that restoration projects can't just be “feel-good” science experiments. They need to pay the bills for local communities. The question is how to make forest restoration as economically attractive as cattle ranching or soy farming.
Thinking Beyond Borders: One of the most interesting discussions centered on managing the Amazon as a single ecosystem rather than a collection of national territories. The idea of biome-level monitoring and coordination isn't new, but the urgency is growing as climate change accelerates.
How can youth be engaged in science and research? At the end of the webinar, we spoke about the spaces that youth occupy in science and research, with Dolors sharing that she feels a little bit worried for how some people are not holding their scientific production to the highest level of critical reflection. Also, she sees how people are feeling hopeless about the current world situation, which reflects on their academic work. This reveals how we should look closely to the next generation of scientists and prioritize their mental health, which will both support them and, consequently, the quality of their work. Echoed by João, Gustavo, Criseyda and Alejandra, the main message of this last section was that young people have to, in the first place, feel joy out of their work and second, branch out their research as much as they can - with other researchers, professors, mentors, and with other organizations that will be able to support their work and have that being translated into real-world applications.
What's Next? The takeaway: We need both conservation and restoration, but in the right order. First, we must protect what's left, then restore what we can, all while making sure local communities are leading and benefiting from both. As the young researchers pointed out, this isn't just about science—it's about creating economic and social systems that make conservation the obvious choice. The Amazon's future depends on conversations like these, where different generations can challenge each other's assumptions and build solutions together.
What questions would you ask these researchers? Join the conversation and share your thoughts.
Resources:
Watch for the next Science Across Generations session and add your voice to the dialogue.
