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35 years of science for the Amazon

Imazon's story told in 8 chapters: from its founding in 1990 to today's forest restoration.

Start with chapter 1

Christopher Uhl and a companion sitting on the bow of a boat on Combu Island, in Belém, in 1996 — Christopher Uhl on Combu Island, in Belém, in 1996. Photo: Tatiana Veríssimo

Chapter 1: Founding

The birth of the first research NGO in the Amazon

The institute was founded on July 10, 1990, with the mission it still holds today: to promote conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon

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Chapter 2: Forest Management

How research from the 1990s scaled up forest management in the Amazon

The institute's scientists developed the first demonstration project of the technique in the Amazon, which has made it possible to manage 3 million hectares today

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Technician in a helmet takes notes next to a large tree in the forest — Researchers spent years documenting logging in the Amazon. Photo: Imazon Archive

Carlos Souza Jr. analyzes SAD deforestation maps on two monitors — Carlos Souza Jr. showing SAD data. Photo: Imazon Archive

Chapter 3: Remote Sensing

How an Amazonian institution gained worldwide prominence in remote sensing

Systems created by the institute inspired similar initiatives in other biomes and countries

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Chapter 4: Livestock

Pioneering work on cattle ranching in the Amazon helped reduce deforestation by the sector

The institute has been a reference in assessments and recommendations for the sector, focused on conservation and higher productivity

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Herd of white cattle on green pasture under a cloudy sky — Cattle ranching in the Amazon. Photo: Márcio Isensee e Sá

Grão-Pará Ecological Station, a protected area in Pará — Grão-Pará Ecological Station. Photo: Ideflor-Bio

Chapter 5: Conservation

From creating 25 million hectares of protected areas to monitoring biodiversity

Imazon celebrates 35 years with achievements that shaped the history of conservation in the Amazon and plans innovations for the future

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Chapter 6: Law

How the institute became a reference in research on land grabbing in the Amazon

The organization's law area also stands out in analyses of the judicial accountability of illegal deforesters

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PRF and Ibama agents next to timber seized in the forest, in Amapá, in 2025 — Timber seized by the Federal Highway Police (PRF) and Ibama in 2025, in Amapá. Photo: PRF/Handout

A riverside woman stirs cassava flour in a large pan in the Flota de Faro, in Pará — Riverside woman making cassava flour in the Flota de Faro, in Pará. Photo: Márcio Nagano/Imazon

Chapter 7: Sustainable Development

Concern for sustainable development drove pioneering initiatives such as Municípios Verdes, IPS Brasil and Amazônia 2030

The topic has been central since the institute's founding decade, in 1990

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Chapter 8: Forest Restoration

In research and in the field, the institute has been promoting forest restoration in the Amazon for ten years

Its work contributes to the national goal of restoring at least 12 million hectares of forest by 2030

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Seedlings planted in an Imazon forest restoration project — Seedlings planted by Imazon in a restoration project in the Amazon. Photo: Vitória Leona/Imazon

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