World Economic Forum Names Courageous Land Winner of 2022 Amazon Bioeconomy Challenge

Courageous Land

Courageous Land, a Brazilian agroforestry company, has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a winner of the prestigious 2022 Amazon Bioeconomy Challenge. 

Courageous Land designs, plants and manages biodiverse productive reforestation projects that transform previously deforested land, such as degraded pastures, into agroforests that sequester CO2 while also producing organic and regenerative crops. Key products include carbon credits, açai, cocoa, coffee, spices, fruits, beauty ingredients and native hardwoods. 

Courageous Land is accelerating its work to recover landscapes in the Amazon in an area where illegal deforestation, mostly driven by conventional agriculture, has reached a devastating 2% per year. The loss of tree cover is amplifying CO2 emissions and climate change.

"Courageous Land's mission is to reverse climate change while creating health and abundance for all of life on Earth," says Philip Kauders, CEO and Co-Founder of the company. "We do this by planting agroforestry systems that regenerate forest ecosystems and are scalable. Our goal is to achieve over 10,000 hectares of productive reforestation by 2030, generating thousands of full-time green jobs for local communities, sequestering vast amounts of carbon and transforming the old degenerative agricultural model into a new regenerative one that society increasingly demands."

The Trillion Trees: Amazon Bioeconomy Challenge is a joint initiative of the World Economic Forum innovation platform Uplink and 1t.org. The challenge called for innovative projects in the Amazon Forest that protect and restore biodiversity and ecosystem functions.

Gilberto Terra, Head of Agroforestry and Co-Founder, refers to Courageous Land as a "boots on the ground company," and says, "We are working towards scaling a solution that can not only help mitigate climate change, but also prepare for it by installing agroforestry systems that can outperform monocrop agriculture during the increasingly common extreme weather events. All participating community members will share in the profits, and we prioritize working with women, minorities and refugees. Finally, a percentage of the food production will be donated to children in need."

Gianluca Gygax, Impact Specialist at the World Economic Forum's Uplink Platform, said, "We are delighted to honor Courageous Land given its amazing work and vision for a more sustainable and regenerative future in the Amazon. We wish to see more companies on the ground inspired by Courageous Land's example to drive the change needed to reverse the deforestation of the Amazon, a subject that is of relevance to all of the world."

Kauders adds, "A regenerative and inclusive economy in the Amazon biome is urgently needed, and the support of the World Economic Forum not only validates the work we've been doing, but also helps us drive our mission forward."

For more information about Courageous Land, please visit www.courageousland.com.

For more information about the World Economic Forum, please visit https://www.weforum.org.