By Shreshta Chotelal

Along the upper Saramacca River in Suriname, the Matawai community has lived for generations in close connection with a vast stretch of Amazon rainforest. A tribal community with a rich cultural heritage that is deeply connected to the land and river systems that sustain their communities.

Yet, like many forest-dependent communities across the Amazon region, Matawai is facing an ongoing challenge: how to create sustainable economic opportunities while preserving the natural environment on which livelihoods and traditions depend. To help the community navigate this challenge, the Matawai Liba project was created.

Implemented by Amazon Conservation Team Guianas with support from IDB Lab, the initiative is building a community-based tourism model that connects biodiversity conservation, local entrepreneurship, and economic development with efforts to strengthen community governance models and transparent benefit-sharing mechanisms. Working with 82 households and 11 local tourism enterprises, located along the Upper Saramacca River, in a territory that spans approximately 90,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest.

At its core, the project responds to a broader question facing many Amazonian territories: how can biodiversity generate new economic opportunities and industries for local communities?

Community-based tourism offers one possible pathway. By creating value around natural and cultural assets, it can diversify local income sources, strengthen community capacities, and create opportunities that are aligned with long-term forest conservation.

Under the Matawai Liba project, local entrepreneurs are receiving training in hospitality, tourism management, entrepreneurship, finance, and business operations. Support extends across the tourism value chain, including tour guides, boat operators, food suppliers, lodging providers, and many more. Investments in technology and tourism infrastructure aim to strengthen the quality and competitiveness of community-led enterprises.

The initiative also places strong emphasis on inclusion. At least 60% of the jobs created are expected to be held by women, while at least 9 women-led businesses will be supported as part of the tourism ecosystem. For many women, youth, and artisans in the community, the project represents not only a new source of income, but also an opportunity to build skills, strengthen resilience, and shape the future of their communities.

Beyond tourism development, Matawai Liba integrates conservation activities such as biodiversity monitoring, forest restoration, and environmental awareness. Visitors become active participants in preservation efforts, contributing to the protection of thousands of hectares of rainforest through activities linked to reforestation and conservation education.

Supported through the Amazonia BIOBuilders Challenge, developed by IDB Lab, under the scope of the IDB Group's regional coordination program, Amazonia Forever, and in partnership with the Green Climate Fund, the project reflects a growing effort to support innovative bioeconomy models across the Amazonia.

As global interest in sustainable tourism and authentic local cultural experiences continues to grow, initiatives like Matawai Liba demonstrate how biodiversity can become a platform for entrepreneurship, employment, and inclusive development while ensuring that the forests communities have protected for generations continue to thrive for generations to come.