Sustainable Settlements in the Amazon: a documentary for IPAM

Large-scale deforestation in the Amazon fell thanks to enforcement and satellites, but small clearings, spread across family farm plots, became a challenge. Since 2012, IPAM has supported settlements in Altamira, Santarém and Itaituba in a transition to a low-carbon economy. The institute needed to report to the Amazon Fund and answer, with real stories, one question: how do you curb deforestation and ensure family farmers' quality of life without treating the settlements as villains?

We traveled through three settlements in western Pará and listened to more than 70 people: farmers, leaders, rural extension technicians and partners. We filmed the environmental registration of plots, pasture renewal, cocoa, black pepper, cassava flour mills, small pulp and dairy plants, markets and community forest management.

The script organizes the project into chapters, from environmental compliance to payment for environmental services, which rewards about 350 families who keep the forest standing. Graphics, a map and charts show the scale of settlements in the Amazon and the carbon they hold.

Beyond the film, we delivered the field report, the expedition photographs and the cover for the institute's channel.

The film presents the project's results among the families served: a drop of about 79% in deforestation and a 68% increase in gross income.