Science has a critical role to play in guiding more sustainable development trajectories. Here, we present the Sustainable Amazon Network ( Rede Amazônia Sustentável , RAS): a multidisciplinary research initiative involving more than 30 partner organizations working to assess both social and ecological dimensions of land-use sustainability in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. The research approach adopted by RAS offers three advantages for addressing land-use sustainability problems: (i) the collection of synchronized and co-located ecological and socioeconomic data across broad gradients of past and present human use; (ii) a nested sampling design to aid comparison of ecological and socioeconomic conditions associated with different land uses across local, landscape and regional scales; and (iii) a strong engagement with a wide variety of actors and non-research institutions. Here, we elaborate on these key features, and identify the ways in which RAS can help in highlighting those problems in most urgent need of attention, and in guiding improvements in land-use sustainability in Amazonia and elsewhere in the tropics. We also discuss some of the practical lessons, limitations and realities faced during the development of the RAS initiative so far.

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Bio-sustainable aviation fuels (bio-SAFs) are an important pillar of the aviation sector decarbonisation strategy in the mid-term. Here we assess the induced land-use change (LUC) implications of producing bio-SAFs in Brazil under different assumptions of forest conservation governance. We evaluate four bio-SAF routes via two main pathways: the Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) and the Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA) syntheses. We chose the most promising agriculture-based feedstocks to produce bio-SAFs in macro-regions of Brazil, including sugarcane and maize ethanol to jet (ATJ) and palm and macaw HEFA routes. To this end, we calculated future projections of air transport demand in Brazil and used the Brazilian Land Use and Energy Systems (BLUES) Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) to estimate LUC greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within five different levels of bio-SAF blends (10% to 50% of total aviation fuel demand) for each bio-SAFs evaluated. Estimated cumulated emissions vary widely, ranging from a carbon sequestration of -286.8 gCO2e.MJ-1 for a 10% blend of maize ATJ under a controlled deforestation scenario to a release of 15.0 gCO2e.MJ-1 for a 40% blend of high productivity macaw oil HEFA considering historical deforestation rates in the country. Results are highly sensitive to deforestation rate parameters, volume of bio-SAFs produced and the type of feedstock used. Negative LUC GHG emissions were found under controlled deforestation assumptions and in low blends of bio-SAFs for maize and sugarcane ATJ routes. Under historical deforestation rates, the LUC GHG emissions are higher. Bio-SAF can be beneficial to reduce GHG emissions if effective land conservation policies are implemented. Therefore, large-scale bio-SAF production from sugar crops in Brazil may play an important role in the decarbonisation of the aviation sector if coupled with successful strategies to control deforestation. Additionally, when imposing bio-SAF demand, other biofuels demand reduces under the model optimal solution due to land restrictions.