The Amazon faces pronounced environmental and climatic changes driven by deforestation, wildfires, and shifting precipitation patterns. With global warming and associated environmental disasters becoming increasingly likely in the next decades, the Amazon requires short-term and transboundary solutions to avoid the collapse of socioecological systems. Addressing climate change, conservation, and sustainable resource use is challenging due to weak governance in most, if not all, Amazonian countries. This raises a critical question: How can we convince people and governments that ecosystem and landscape planning and management across biophysical, cultural, and governance contexts will bring long-term benefits? Answering this question, requires a multifactorial and transboundary approach that integrates natural and social sciences to understand the underlying issues of these challenges.

Confronting environmental challenges requires recognizing the interconnectedness of climatic anomalies, human activities, and environmental policies. By examining these relationships, we can develop more effective strategies to tackle these pressing issues. This symposium will focus on understanding the impacts of climate change—such as droughts, floods, and fires—and how human activities, including illegal practices, exacerbate these risks, drive unsustainable behaviors, and threaten the development of socio-bioeconomies. We will discuss the governance, environmental, and economic policies needed to reduce climate change risks in Amazonia. Additionally, we will explore strategies to mitigate environmental disasters, support regional adaptation and mitigation efforts, and promote sustainable bioeconomies for a healthier socioecological Amazon.