Research

CENBAM (Center for Integrated Studies of Amazonian Biodiversity) is one of the new National Institutes of Science and Technology approved by CNPq in 2008. Its objective is to integrate biological research in the Amazon into efficient chains of scientific and technological production.

Currently, Amazonian biodiversity is not being conserved or explored efficiently due to lack of scientific and technological knowledge. The few existing research projects are concentrated around the largest population centers, Belém and Manaus. Regional centers face a vicious cycle where lack of resources discourages the retention of qualified human resources in the interior, and the lack of qualified human resources results in limited scientific production, preventing resource acquisition, which in turn hinders the training of local human resources.

CENBAM operates through regional centers in Amazonas, Roraima, Amapá, Rondônia, Acre, and Mato Grosso, promoting the training of local human resources at various levels, from field assistants and parataxonomists to elementary and high school students, laboratory technicians, and graduate students.

The institute also facilitates infrastructure improvements, including museums, herbaria, and living collections, the installation and recovery of equipment and laboratories, and the necessary exchange for utilizing available resources. The planning and execution of these activities are carried out in collaboration with information users, such as biotechnology laboratories, biological reserve managers, timber production areas, and agencies responsible for environmental impact assessment and monitoring of areas influenced by major projects.