What Science Panel for the Amazon does

The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) is a non-profit scientific initiative established on September 23, 2019 and launched on July 23, 2020 under the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Headquartered with offices in New York (475 Riverside Drive) and São José dos Campos, Brazil, it operates as the world's first regional high-level science initiative dedicated to the Amazon. Its core technology and product surface centers on knowledge synthesis: aggregating peer-reviewed research, Indigenous and local knowledge systems, remote sensing datasets, and policy analysis into comprehensive Amazon Assessment Reports, policy briefs, and white papers. The first Assessment Report (AR2021) is described as the 'encyclopedia of the Amazon'; the second (AR2025, 'Connectivity of the Amazon for a Living Planet') was launched at COP30 in Belém.

The SPA is composed of 300+ contributing scientists (72% from Amazonian countries, 14 Indigenous scientists, 2 Afro-descendants) but operates with only a 16-person secretariat. Its products include Assessment Reports, themed policy briefs (freshwater, health, cities, socio-bioeconomy), science-policy white papers, a MOOC on edX ('The Living Amazon'), and the 'Conversations for The Amazon We Want' podcast. All outputs are free of charge. Revenue is generated exclusively through institutional grant funding from NICFI, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the World Bank, and the Global Environment Facility — there is no commercial revenue. The go-to-market is event-driven (COP30, PARLAMAZ, GCF Task Force, CMS COP15, UNFF, HLPF) and community-led through the Youth Advisory Committee (200+ participants) and a multi-stakeholder ecosystem of 13+ partner networks representing 450+ organizations. Primary beneficiaries are policymakers across the nine Amazon Basin countries, the scientific community, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, and youth.

Name

Science Panel for the Amazon

Legal name

Science Panel for the Amazon

Website

https://sp-amazon.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) is a UN-hosted nonprofit that synthesizes science from 300+ researchers into Assessment Reports, policy briefs, and white papers for governments and communities across the nine Amazon Basin countries, funded by institutional grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Science Research & Policy Advisory

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

NEPA/EA/EIS & Public Consultation (EUAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

EIA/ESIA Documentation & Technical Studies (Air/Water/Noise/Traffic) (EUAHAAAC)

Keywords

• Scientific assessment reports
• Environmental policy research
• Amazon conservation science
• Science-policy interface
• Biodiversity knowledge synthesis

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Grant Funding: The SPA operates as a nonprofit initiative supported by multi-year institutional grants from governments, foundations, and multilateral development banks. Funding is provided by Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the World Bank, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). No commercial revenue is generated.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) produces comprehensive Amazon Assessment Reports (AR2021, AR2025), themed Policy Briefs (Sustainable Cities, Freshwater, Health, Connectivity, Socio-bioeconomy), Science-Policy White Papers, the Amazon Youth Manifesto, a podcast series, and a free MOOC on edX. It synthesizes peer-reviewed scientific research, Indigenous and local knowledge systems, and remote sensing data into actionable, evidence-based recommendations for policymakers, governments, and civil society across the nine Amazon Basin countries.

Product overview

The Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) is the world's first regional high-level science initiative dedicated to the Amazon, composed of over 300 scientists from Amazonian countries and around the world. The SPA operates as a knowledge synthesis and dissemination platform rather than a traditional product company. Its core offerings center on scientific assessment reports (Amazon Assessment Reports 2021 and 2025), policy briefs addressing specific Amazonian challenges, science-policy white papers, and educational platforms including a podcast ('Conversations for The Amazon We Want') and a Massive Open Online Course ('The Living Amazon'). The SPA also produces youth-focused outputs including the Amazon Youth Manifesto. All offerings are freely accessible through their multilingual website (English, Spanish, Portuguese) and are designed to translate scientific knowledge into actionable policy recommendations for conserving the Amazon.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amazon Assessment Report 2021 The first comprehensive Amazon Assessment Report, described as the 'encyclopedia of the Amazon', providing critical insights into the state of the region and sustainable solutions for conservation and sustainable development. Produced for policymakers, scientific community, and civil society.
• Amazon Assessment Report 2025 The second comprehensive Amazon Assessment Report launched at COP30, focusing on connectivity of the Amazon for a Living Planet — covering ecological, sociocultural, and economic interconnections that sustain the region. Produced for policymakers, scientific community, and civil society.
• Policy Briefs Science-based policy briefs addressing specific topics such as Sustainable Cities and Towns in the Amazon, freshwater ecosystems, health, connectivity, and socio-bioeconomy. Aimed at policymakers, legislators, and government decision-makers.
• Science-Policy White Papers White papers including 'From Knowledge to Action: Strengthening the Science-Policy Interface for the Future of the Amazon', 'Supporting a thriving, integrated and more equitable science community across the Amazon', and the 'Connectivity in the Amazon River Basin' white paper on Indigenous Territories and Protected Areas. Produced for policymakers and international climate forums.
• Amazon Youth Manifesto The Amazon Youth Manifesto: Voices for Connectivity and Climate Action, developed through a participatory process by the Youth Advisory Committee and launched at COP30. Targets youth, policymakers, and international climate forums.
• Conversations for The Amazon We Want Podcast A podcast series featuring intergenerational dialogues between Youth Advisory Committee members and SPA scientists, discussing science, cultures, and sustainability in the Amazon. Distributed through BuzzSprout and major podcast platforms.
• The Living Amazon MOOC A free Massive Open Online Course titled 'The Living Amazon: Science, Cultures and Sustainability in Practice', hosted on edX, exploring the Amazon's importance, its threats, and how sustainable development can conserve its biodiversity and communities for generations. Available globally and free of charge.

Quantifiable outcome

• 57% of Amazon forests are in Indigenous Territories, where ecological connectivity is far better preserved (14-16% affected by human activities vs. 38% in unprotected areas).
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Science Panel for the Global Energy Transition (SPGET)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026The SPA Co-Chair Dr. Carlos Nobre participated in the launch of SPGET — the first global scientific body dedicated to guiding the phase-out of fossil fuels. Both panels share the goal of advancing science-based climate solutions.
• COICA (Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2025COICA and SPA joined forces at the Quito workshop in May 2025 to advocate for protecting and restoring at least 80% of the Amazon to avoid ecological tipping points. The partnership combines SPA's scientific synthesis with COICA's Indigenous governance networks and advocacy reach, targeting COP30 and international policy spaces.
• Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPA actively participates in GCF Task Force annual meetings, presenting white papers and science-policy recommendations to subnational governors and policymakers. A joint plan between SPA and GCF Task Force is being developed to identify synergies and scale up nature-based solutions and regenerative socio-bioeconomies throughout the Amazon.
• Amazon Conservation (Amazon Conservation Association)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmazon Conservation collaborated with SPA Lead Authors and researchers to produce the flying rivers white paper, mapping critical atmospheric moisture flows across the Amazon Basin. The report informs SPA science on connectivity and tipping points, with joint authorship from SPA-affiliated scientists.
• Conservation X LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation X Labs, through its Amazon Director Marion Adeney (SPA Author), collaborates on socio-bioeconomy science-policy briefs and participates in GCF Task Force bioeconomy working groups alongside SPA scientists.
• Amazon Waters Alliance (AAA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SPA co-organized a roundtable at CMS COP15 with AAA focusing on socioecological connectivity and freshwater biodiversity. AAA's Technical Secretary Guillermo Estupiñán moderated the session, and AAA coordinates with SPA on basin-wide migratory fish conservation efforts.
• RAISG (Red Amazónica de Información Socioambiental Georreferenciada)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAISG co-organized the CMS COP15 roundtable with SPA and AAA, contributing geo-referenced socioenvironmental data. RAISG is one of 13 networks in the 'Amazonian Network of Networks' collaboration, representing over 450 civil society organizations.
• Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSPA engages with ACTO as the permanent secretariat for Amazon cooperation, presenting recommendations at the Amazon Presidents' Summit and contributing to the Pan-Amazonian Pact developed by the Network of Networks collaboration coordinated through ACTO.
• Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSFQ hosted the SPA workshop and III Conference for The Amazon We Want in Quito, Ecuador (April 2025). USFQ professors (Andrea Encalada, Juan Manuel Guayasamin) serve as SPA Science Steering Committee members and Lead Authors, enabling deep institutional collaboration on AR2025 development.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The global gold-standard science-policy body for climate assessment. IPCC's structure and assessment-report model directly inspired the SPA model; SPA operates as a regional analog for the Amazon biome.
• UN Environment Programme (UNEP): The UN's designated environmental authority, providing global assessment and convening infrastructure that frames and amplifies SPA's regional Amazon findings within global environmental governance.
• World Resources Institute (WRI): A global environmental research organization producing flagship data products (Global Forest Watch) and policy analysis on forests, climate, and sustainable development — a much larger incumbent operating adjacent to SPA's thematic space.

Emerging players

• IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis): An international scientific institute conducting systems-analysis research on global environmental and socioeconomic change; overlaps with SPA in integrated assessment modeling and tropical-forest dynamics.

Direct peers

• COICA (Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin): The pan-Amazon Indigenous governance network and SPA's primary Indigenous-knowledge partner; together they co-advocate for the 80% Amazon protection target at COP and international forums.
• Science Panel for the Congo Basin: A sibling science panel under UN SDSN focused on the Congo Basin rainforest, sharing the same institutional model, donor consortium, and assessment-report approach as SPA — the closest structural peer.
• Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force (GCF Task Force): A subnational government coalition addressing deforestation; SPA's flagship subnational science-policy partner, with shared white papers, annual meetings, and joint planning on socio-bioeconomy and nature-based solutions.
• Amazon Conservation (Amazon Conservation Association): A science-and-conservation NGO operating across the Andes-Amazon that partners with SPA on the MAAP flying-rivers analysis and shares overlapping research, remote sensing, and policy-advocacy mandates.
• Science Panel for Borneo: The third sibling panel under UN SDSN, covering Borneo's forests and communities. Operates with the same science-policy synthesis framework, donor structure, and report cadence as SPA.
• Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): The global UN-convened science-policy body for biodiversity assessment. IPBES is structurally analogous to SPA, providing authoritative synthesized assessments that feed into CBD and national policy decisions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sciencepanelfortheamazon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/science-panel-for-the-amazon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Science Panel for the Amazon