A declaration to transform the monitoring and protection of Amazonian biodiversity is presented at COP30
On 15 November, the UPC together with Indigenous communities, Amazonian scientific institutions, NGOs, governments and international organisations presented the Mamirauá Declaration at COP30. It is an innovative collective commitment to transform how biodiversity is monitored, governed and protected throughout the Amazon Basin.
Nov 17, 2025
Led by Brazil’s Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), the Mamirauá Declaration presented at the climate summit COP30 in Belém, Brazil, brings together Indigenous communities, governments and scientific, technological and environmental institutions, both local and international, that had never before worked within a shared framework. For the first time, a formally adopted shared vision has been established, grounded in Indigenous leadership, scientific excellence and regional cooperation—an achievement long awaited for the world’s most vital rainforest.
Thirty organisations, including the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, the UPC, the Sense of Silence Foundation, WCS, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Panthera, Alana Foundation, Imazon, the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, New York University, Lobelia, Wildlife Insights and XPRIZE, have already signed the Declaration, and more institutions have committed to joining this growing alliance.
Michel André, director of the UPC’s Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics, international ambassador for the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá and co-promoter of the Mamirauá Declaration, emphasises that “with this historic declaration we aim to provide a unified and rapid response to international calls to safeguard the Amazon.”
“The Mamirauá Declaration marks a turning point,” stated Emiliano Ramalho, co-promoter of the initiative and technical scientific director of the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá. “It reflects a new era of collaboration: ethical, inclusive and rooted in the knowledge and rights of the peoples who have protected the Amazon for millennia.”
Transforming biodiversity monitoring
Guided by principles of participatory governance, equitable relationships, ethical open data (justice, care, trust), technological innovation, transparency and free, prior and informed consent, the signatory organisations commit to a collaborative, inclusive and science-based approach to ensure the protection and regeneration of the Amazon for future generations through the following actions:
- Creating an unprecedented alliance that brings together Amazonian governments, scientific institutions, Indigenous peoples and local communities, NGOs and private sector actors to safeguard Amazonian biodiversity.
- Responding to urgent threats such as deforestation, climate change and unsustainable resource use by establishing a coordinated, cross-border monitoring effort.
- Affirming the global ecological importance of the Amazon Basin for climate regulation, carbon storage, biodiversity and cultural heritage.
- Recognising Indigenous rights, intergenerational equity, gender sensitivity and the value of traditional knowledge combined with modern science.
- Calling for a standardised, interoperable and adaptive biodiversity monitoring system that enables evidence-based decision-making across the region.
- Building upon international frameworks including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and regional commitments such as the Belém Declaration and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).
The Declaration recognises the growing role of science and technology when deployed ethically and collaboratively.
A new chapter for the conservation of the Amazon
COP30, supported by the XPRIZE Foundation, concluded with the formal signing of the Mamirauá Declaration, a collective commitment intended to become a key pillar for collaborative biodiversity governance across the Amazon Basin in the coming decades.
“This is a historic moment,” said Pedro Hartung, executive director of the Alana Foundation, which supported the Declaration. “For the first time, the Amazon has a shared roadmap for biodiversity monitoring, created by the very people and institutions responsible for managing it.”
Real-time acoustic monitoring
The UPC’s LAB is a leading research centre dedicated to studying how human activities impact terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems through sound. Combining cutting-edge engineering, ecology and artificial intelligence, the LAB, based at the Vilanova i la Geltrú School of Engineering (EPSEVG), develops advanced real-time acoustic monitoring technologies used worldwide to protect biodiversity, particularly in the Amazon. The LAB’s work spans marine environments, tropical forests and polar regions, supporting conservation, policymaking and the sustainable management of natural habitats based on scientific evidence.
