Historically, the local populations in floodable forests [1] in the Amazon were able to sustain themselves through fishing and subsistence farming, which were periodically affected by the seasonal flooding. But in recent decades, with each flood season, the rising waters have produced emergency situations of more severe and long lasting floods, affecting the inhabitants’ homes and livelihoods.
The pilot project, implemented in the context of the GEF/Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)/UN Environment Amazon Project, aimed at empowering the local communities to better adapt to the flooding. Taking into account the traditional knowledge of the communities, the project implemented innovative agro-technologies and fish production systems, which now guarantee the economic livelihoods of the inhabitants during the periods of water rises.
The activities of the project, involving communities in the Municipality of Santarém in Brazil, and the Province of Nauta in Peru, included interviews with men and women from the communities on their way of life, social organizations and cultural values as well as a study about fishing and botanical resources in the zones selected for the project interventions expanding the productive options and timespan of economic activities and including fishermen and riverside farmers into the local market. A favorable social setting for the project was created through a direct approach and involvement of the communities. Following, ecosystem resilience tests were made and appropriate locations were selected for the building of elevated garden structures for cultivation of vegetables during times of extreme flooding, and for the installation of tank-nets for fish production.
Following, training workshops were held with the communities for managing semi-hydroponic vegetable- and fish production, thus promoting family agribusinesses. Two elevated 100 m2 semi-hydroponic gardens were implemented in the communities of Tapará Grande and Urucurituba, Brazil. The technological level of fruit and vegetable production was increased, facilitating inclusion of their products in local markets. At the same time, fish net tanks were introduced in Igarapé do Costa (with 5,000 alevins [2] provided), in Tapará Grande (2,500 alevins) and in San Jacinto, Peru (4,500 alevins) for the production of the Colossoma macropomumor Tambaqui species (a freshwater Amazon and bivalve fish), with expected production of 12 tons of fish after 8 months of cultivation.
This pilot project empowered the local communities through incorporating new agro-technologies in their traditional modes of production. It enhanced their strategies of resilience and adaptation to climate variability and extreme events, at the same time making productive use of the richness of the ecosystems and generating income and opportunities for entering little-explored markets. Thus, with the elevated hydroponic gardens and the tank-nets, the anthropic impact in the area is also reduced, with options that can be replicated in other regions of the Amazon and in other basins that are experiencing the impacts of climate change.
For more information, please contact Maria Apostalova on maria.apostolova@otca.org.br and visit iwlearn.net/iw-projects/2364.
[1] The floodable forests or varzeas- one of the most sensitive and threatened Amazon ecosystems -correspond to plains that are periodically flooded by the Amazon River, mainly in Brazil and Peru.
[2] A newly spawned salmon or trout still carrying the yolk.
© 2026 IW:LEARN
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)