A ground-breaking sustainability project championed by leading open science publisher, Frontiers, has been designated a Pilot Science Mission for Sustainability at the International Science Council’s (ISC) Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue today (27 January).

The Pilot Science Missions for Sustainability apply a ‘big science’ approach to sustainability, elevating collaboration between science, policy, and society – the call for Pilot proposals received over 250 expressions of interest from consortia, with less than 1 in 10 succeeding. The successful Instituto Juruá’s Transformative Science for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods in Amazonia project creates community forest stewardship that helps grow local economies. The project is led by Dr João Campos-Silva, Instituto Juruá’s President, in collaboration with Vice-President Professor Carlos Peres, the inaugural International Champion of the Frontiers Planet Prize – following the Frontiers Planet Prize award, Frontiers in Science published Professor Peres’ widely reported co-authored article on conservation imperatives.  

Professor Peres used the Frontiers Planet Prize money of 1 million CHF (US$1.1 million) to extend the Institute’s activities in Brazil’s Amazonas state further and increase the reach of Dr Campos-Silva's project. Beyond providing this critical funding for the project’s expansion, Frontiers activated stakeholders in its climate action programme to amplify the environmental, economic, and social impact of the research.

As part of its commitment to accelerate scientific solutions to counter climate change, Frontiers leveraged its climate action programme and network to bring together ten key partners in a consortium to ensure the project’s grassroots level impact. Multilateral collaboration ranged from policy-making with regional mayors via the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCOM) and International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) to expediting public-private partnerships via the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and global consultancy KPMG and Deep Matter Labs.

Frontiers was also instrumental in preparing the project’s consortia bid to become an ISC Pilot Science Mission for Sustainability. The successful bid means the project will now pilot across the whole Amazon basin, with the potential to become a replicable example worldwide of how to involve communities in scientific biodiversity projects that also sustain and support local economies.

On the announcement of the Science Missions at the ISC General Assembly in Oman today, Professor Peres said:

"This is a unique opportunity to strengthen an evidence-based model that blends innovative science with traditional knowledge in the Amazon. By improving local quality of life while preserving the forest, we can showcase a positive example of how local communities can sustainably manage their environment, fostering optimism and hope for the future." 

Frontiers CEO, Dr Kamila Markram, commented:

"The Instituto Juruá project exemplifies both the mission of the Frontiers Planet Prize and the potential of open science to work hand-in-hand with communities and scientists, making real impact on the ground by supporting ecosystems and economies in a way that is sustainable, shareable and replicable. We could not be more delighted by this announcement and the continued success of João’s and Carlos’ team. I send them the warmest congratulations from everyone at Frontiers."

The International Science Council’s CEO, Dr Salvatore Aricò, remarked:

“The Instituto Juruá project epitomizes the essence of what the ISC Science Missions initiative seeks to achieve: transformative, collaborative science that bridges local knowledge with global action. By integrating innovative research with the needs and aspirations of local communities, this initiative demonstrates how science can drive sustainable solutions that benefit both people and the planet.” 

Dr Massamba Thioye, Project Executive, UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub, concluded:

“Biodiversity conservation in Amazonia has ecological, economic, cultural, and global climate benefits. Science can play a crucial role in supporting it, providing the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to understand, protect, and sustainably manage its ecosystems. Using transformative Science for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods in Amazonia is fully aligned with the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub vision: contributing to providing flourishing life to the many people, no one being left behind, while keeping human activities within the planetary boundaries.” 

The Instituto Juruá’s Transformative Science for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods in Amazonia specific goals include: 

• Empower local communities as conservation agents, promoting forest stewardship and supporting local economies 

• Establish a polycentric river-basin governance regime 

• Protect approximately 10 million hectares;  

• Recover overexploited species with significant commercial and cultural value 

• Uphold the social rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities 

• Strengthen low-carbon bioeconomy initiatives for sustainable income generation 

• Improve regional infrastructure to enhance access to services 

 The project’s bid consortia as convened by Frontiers include:     

• Swissnex Brazil 

• KPMG and Dark Matter Labs 

• ICLEI 

• The Arista Institute 

• Senscience 

• LIFES 

• GeSI 

• Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy 

• UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub 

About Frontiers

Frontiers is a leading research publisher. Our role is to provide the world’s scientists with a rigorous and efficient publishing experience. Scientists empower society and our mission is to accelerate collaboration and discovery by making science open – enabling researchers to find the solutions we all need for healthy lives on a healthy planet. Powered by custom-built technology, artificial intelligence, and a collaborative peer review, our community journals give experts in more than 1,800 academic fields an open access platform to publish high quality, high impact research. Through our outreach work to build strong partnerships with business, policymakers, and educators, we’re leading the transition to open science.

About the Frontiers Planet Prize

The Frontiers Planet Prize is a global competition for scientists and research institutions to propose solutions to help the planet remain within the safe operating space of any one or more of the nine planetary boundaries. It was created by the Frontiers Research Foundation on Earth Day 2022 to mobilize the global scientific community, make it complete at the highest level of excellence, and contribute to the acceleration of concrete solutions to the challenges defined by the planetary boundaries. To date, it has drawn together hundreds of scientists, 20 national academies of science, 610 leading universities and research institutions to compete for three prizes of 1M US dollars each as adjudicated by a Jury of 100 leading sustainability scientists.

About the International Science Council

The International Science Council (ISC) works at the global level to catalyse change by convening scientific expertise, advice and influence on issues of major importance to both science and society. 

The ISC is an international non-governmental organization with a unique membership that brings together 250 international scientific unions and associations, national and regional scientific organizations including academies and research councils, international federations and societies, and young academies and associations. 

About the ISC Science Missions for Sustainability Pilots

Traditional research models — fragmented, competitive, and disconnected from societal needs — are failing to keep pace with the urgency of today's complex and interconnected challenges. Recognizing this gap, the International Science Council (ISC) has developed a new mission-led science model that rethinks how research is conceived, conducted, and applied. By co-designing research questions with policy-makers, industries, and communities, this model ensures that science is better aligned with societal needs, generating actionable knowledge and delivering real-world impact.

These pilots will act as proof-of-concept projects, demonstrating that science, shaped by collaboration and inclusivity, can deliver actionable knowledge and scalable solutions able to address challenges at the nexus of multiple sustainability priorities.