Business Opportunities in the Amazon.

The Amazon is a giant rain forest in Central and South America. This you know for sure, but did you know this forest is actually shared by many countries, namely Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela? The fantastic city of Manaus, in the middle of the Amazon, is a true representative of that entire world -- the capital of the state of Amazonas in Brazil is a pole of economic development in the heart of the rainforest, a living statement of its contradictions and potentialities.

And there is more, almost 25 million people live just in the Brazilian part (I don't want to use the word "cut" here for obvious reasons) of the Amazon. Clearly, there is the need is to preserve versus the need to grow and sustain. Just as you do -- I really hope you do -- all people living there want to live a good life, have food, access to facilities, good education and so on. In Brazil the states of Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins all together contain within their boundaries the forest. They represent about 60 percent of the Brazilian territory -- some five million square kilometers.

With just a glance at a map, you will see that Brazil has more of the Amazon in its territory then any of the other countries. So it does have more responsibility and more problems to deal with. For it is not only in Brazil that you have locals and foreign people from all over the world trying to find fortune in the forest one way or another. Locals will sell, cut, burn -- you name it -- just to live. These people are actually the biggest victims of the system. Some time ago, when I first went to visit Manus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, I wrote, "You want to save the forests? Don't buy, for example, solid wood furniture if that wood is not certified! It's that simple!"

That is one side, yes! But not the only one. Responsible business and information are also key factors if the Amazon Forest is to be saved. Now another great opportunity for you to get involved and check it all for yourself is at hand. The 2008 FIAM (The Amazon International Fair) is about to take place once more in Manaus in September. The whole world is invited to come to Manaus and so are you now.

Amazon International Fair IV. FIAM 2008 - Sept. 10-13, 2008, in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. (I just got the press release!)

Three hundred exhibitors will be distributed in 162 booths that will provide products and services geared for commercial and industrial sectors as well as institutional projects and a wide range of products manufactured from raw material from the Amazonian biodiversity: handicrafts, food, phytotherapy, phytocosmetics and furniture design, among others.

More than 100,000 visitors are expected during the five-day event. Businesses to be closed during the FIAM 2008 are expected to increase 20 percent over the results achieved in FIAM 2006 direct business meetings only. Business rounds involving small and medium enterprises, amounting to some US$7 million, with $2 million achieved instantly.

Brazilian states taking part are Amazonas, Acre, Rondonia, Roraima, Amapa, Tocantins, Para, Mato Grosso and Maranhao. Visitors will come from all over the country. Other countries will be present too: Japan, China, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Mexico, Aruba, United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, India, South Korea and Dubai, among others.

I was lucky to be at the last edition, and I can assure you, it is an opportunity not to be missed.

I hope to see you there!