What does it take to make the Amazon worth more standing than gone? Not in theory—but in practice, on the ground, with real communities, real businesses, and real money. This episode of Rewilding Amazonia follows three people who have built economic models that answer that question from completely different angles.

Eduardo Nycander founded Rainforest Expeditions in Peru's Tambopata region in 1989—a community ecotourism joint venture with the Ese'eja people that has proven a healthy forest is worth more per hectare than any alternative land use. 

Drago Bozovich's company manages 183,000 hectares of FSC-certified forest in Madre de Dios, harvesting less than one tree per hectare every twenty years while running Brazil nut operations that provide year-round employment—and his company’s forests now have jaguar densities higher than Manu National Park. 

Isabel Felandro of Cool Earth is tackling a different problem: the communities with no product to sell and no income stable enough to resist the pressure to destroy what they have. Her answer is unconditional cash transfers—and the first conservation basic income pilot in the Peruvian Amazon is already showing results.

The economic case for the standing forest isn't idealism. It's evidence. If this episode changed how you think about conservation, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction: Dawn on the river
1:44 Eduardo Nycander: 35 years in the Amazon
3:53 Rainforest Expeditions: Building the business
6:02 Partnership with the Ese'Eja community of Infierno
8:41 Spreading the economic benefit
9:57 The macaw nesting crisis
12:39 Eduardo's legacy & training the wider region
14:08 Drago Bozovich: Three generations of Amazon forestry
15:43 FSC-certified sustainable harvesting explained
17:56 20 years later: The forest comes back
19:55 Brazil nuts & year-round employment
21:03 Jaguars denser than national parks
22:18 Isabel Felandro: From Cambridge to the field
25:05 Cool Earth's model: Direct cash to communities
26:22 The climate finance gap
28:09 Conservation basic income pilot
30:33 Early results: Less stress, more conservation
33:24 Economic stability & indigenous land defenders
35:20 Advocacy & the shift in climate finance
37:01 Conclusion: The economic case for the standing forest

CREDITS
Executive Producer & Host: Brooke Mitchell
Associate Producer & Music Composer: Brad Parsons

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DISCLAIMER
The views expressed by guests are their own and don't necessarily represent those of Rewildology or its host. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, science evolves and details may change—always do your own research and consult primary sources where it matters.