For Immediate Release 23rd August 2014
Contact: Mike Williams: mike@westminsterpa.com / +44 (0) 78 3796 1855 (London)
SAFEGUARDING THE AMAZON RAINFOREST DEMANDS “DRAMATIC AND
SUSTAINED” IMPROVEMENT IN THE LIVES OF ITS 24 MILLION CITIZENS –
NEW RESEARCH BY IMAZON USING SOCIAL PROGRESS INDEX TOOL
[23.08.2014] The conservation of the Brazilian Amazon is being threatened by “the poor
social progress of the 24 million people living in the region” and without “dramatic and
sustained” improvement in the social conditions of these citizens the protection of this vital
environmental region will be difficult to safeguard. These are the findings of the Social
Progress Index for the Brazilian Amazon, published by the Brazilian nonprofit Imazon in
partnership with the global nonprofit Social Progress Imperative.
The report measured the social progress of the people living within 772 municipalities and
nine states of the Brazilian Amazon. It found that the people inhabiting the region face huge
challenges in almost every measure of social progress.
The Social Progress Index built for the Brazilian Amazon combined globally relevant
indicators, such as maternal mortality rates, access to piped water, and secondary school
enrolment, with customized indicators adapted to the local context, such as deforestation
rates, malaria incidence, child and teenage pregnancies, and violence against indigenous
people.
High resolution versions of these and other maps are available online: http://ow.ly/ACGb0
Key report findings include:
 Social progress lags in the Brazilian Amazon: almost 98.5% of the Amazon
municipalities have a social progress score lower than the national average (and on
the global Social Progress Index 2014, while it ranks best of the BRICS, Brazil ranks
only 46th out of 132 countries).
 Social progress lags measurably in the Brazilian Amazon: the average and the lowest
social progress scores of the Brazilian Amazon municipalities are 15% and 38%
lower, respectively, than the national Brazilian score.
 In the 12 municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon with the worst overall social
progress scores, 150,000 Brazilians face huge challenges in almost every measure of
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social progress, with some of the most basic needs of the people in these
municipalities not being met:
o The maternal mortality rate is 298.21 per 100,000 people.
o The child mortality rate is 27.8 per 100,000 people.
o Infectious diseases (malaria, HIV, dengue and tuberculosis) are killing 49.5
per 100,000 people.
o In terms of water and sanitation, 80% of these populations have no clean
water to drink.
o Almost 30% of people over the age of 15 living in these municipalities are
illiterate.
On measures of access to basic knowledge (adult literacy rate, primary school
enrollment, secondary school enrollment, and quality of education) the region scores
10% worse compared to the whole of Brazil (a score of 60.61/100 for the Brazilian
Amazon compared to 67.13/100 for the whole of Brazil).
On measures of nutrition and basic medical care the region scores just 72.46/100
compared to 80.01/100 for the whole of Brazil (a 9% difference).
For water and sanitation, Amazonia scores only 35.35 compared to 74.87 for the
whole of Brazil (a 53% difference).
On measures of individual rights the region scores more than 31% poorer than the
whole of Brazil: 45.22./100 versus 65.39/100.
Beto Verissimo of the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon), lead
researcher on the study, said: “Our report finds that the people of the Brazilian Amazon face
huge challenges in almost every measure of social progress. From access to clean water
and basic education to personal choice and personal rights, the citizens of the region, on
average, experience significantly lower social progress compared to people living in the rest
of Brazil.
“Can we really expect to protect the biodiversity of the Amazon if the people living there
continue to struggle on the very basic measures that define the human experience?
Brazilian leaders need to urgently address the poor social progress of the 24 million people
living in the region. Dramatic and sustained efforts are required to achieve this, and by
improving the social progress of the people living in the Amazon we can help to safeguard
the environmental sustainability of the region.”
Glaucia Barros, Fundación Avina’s national representative and chair of #Progresso Social
Brasil, an emerging network of partners that conceived and supported the report, said: “The
Brazilian Amazon region hosts about a third of the Earth's tropical forests and at least a
fifth of the planet’s biodiversity. The wellbeing of the whole of humanity relies on the
conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems such as the Brazilian Amazon. Yet we will
not be able to protect this vital environmental global public good if we neglect the wellbeing
of the 24 million citizens who populate this region of 5 million square kilometers, greater
than the area covered by the 28 countries of the European Union.”
How they fare - social progress in Acre state, Manaus and Amazonas:
 Acre state, on the border with Bolivia/Peru—home of indigenous people who do not
want to be contacted—and Roraima state (on the border with Venezuela and where
the Yanomami indigenous tribes lives) score just 54.1 (Acre) and 54.4 (Roraima)
respectively.
 The study found that the city of Manaus—home to a new soccer stadium built for the
2014 World Cup and the largest municipality in the Brazilian Amazon, the capital
city of the state of Amazonas and home to approximately 2 million people, with a
high income level—ranks 23rd of the 772 municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon
with a score of 66.55, below the Brazilian average.
 Amazonas is the largest Brazilian state and the 9th largest country subdivision in the
world (2.3 times bigger than Texas) with a score of just 54.9.
More information on each of these three examples is available in the notes to editors (below).
Michael Green, Social Progress Imperative’s CEO said: “The Social Progress Framework
upon which the global and the Amazon Social Progress Indices are built can be adapted to
shed light on local realities in order to drive action in communities anywhere in the world.
We intend this report to be the first of many similar initiatives around the world to measure
and advance social progress using this new tool.”
Steve Almond, Chairman of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited said: “A sustainable and
prosperous society needs business to be successful, and business thrives best in a robust
society. Studies like this one are essential for leaders across public, private, and civil sectors
to gain a deep understanding of the challenges for regions, like the Brazilian Amazon, that
represent both great boundaries of socio-economic development and great business
opportunities. The Social Progress Index provides qualified, holistic information that helps
leaders to make investment decisions that best serve both their business prospects and
society’s progress.”
The project was conceived and supported by #Progresso Social Brasil, an emerging network
of partners that convenes different sectors of society in Brazil around the shared objective of
improving social progress, under the leadership of Fundación Avina and Deloitte Brazil. The
report was led by the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon) with
technical support from the Social Progress Imperative. The Climate and Land Use Alliance,
Fundación Avina, and Skoll Foundation also supported the study. #Progresso Social Brasil is
a member of the global Social Progress Network.
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Notes to editors:
Read the report
An executive summary in English is downloadable at:
http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/publications
The full report and an executive summary in Portuguese are downloadable at:
progressosocial.org.br
Explore the data
Use a custom-built interactive map to explore the data, and grab the code to embed on your
own site: www.ipsamazonia.org.br
Download the data to review or publish
The full dataset for this study is available for download at: www.ipsamazonia.org.br
High-resolution images (.jpg, .png, and .eps) to publish
Media kit summarizing available assets - http://ow.ly/ACnWy
Logos - http://ow.ly/ABVEP
Graphs - http://ow.ly/ABVLj
Maps - http://ow.ly/ABVTz
Results Table - http://ow.ly/ABVZt
Slide decks and video
Slide Decks - http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/media/slideshows
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpZ85ApGtII
Additional information of particular interest to audiences outside Brazil:
 The study found that Acre state—home to the indigenous people living near the
border with Peru who made headlines recently by emerging from isolation, and one
of the Brazilian states inside the Amazonian biosphere, with an area of 152,581 km2,
and a population of 760,000 people—had an average score across its municipalities
of 54.09, lowest of the 9 states of the Brazilian Amazon, largely due to challenges
with water and sanitation.
o Only 39% of the population has access to clean water.
o 24% of the population is illiterate.
o This state reports more than 2 times the average rate of incidents of violence
against women.
o The Social Progress Index Dimensions of Basic Human Needs, and also
Opportunity, are the urgent topics in this state.
 The study found that the city of Manaus—home to a new soccer stadium built for the
2014 World Cup and the largest municipality in the Brazilian Amazon, the capital
city of the state of Amazonas and home to approximately 2 million people, with a
high income level—ranks 23rd of the 772 municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. In
each of the three Social Progress Index dimensions it performs better than the average
Amazonian municipality.
o However, with 56.5 homicides per 100,000 residents, a rate more than 2
times the national rate in Brazil, it is similar to Venezuela, one of the most
dangerous countries in the world.
o It is even worse for youth, with a homicide rate of 103 deaths per 100,000
residents.
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For women, Manaus is also a violent place: the rate of violence against
women, at 160 cases per 100,000 residents, is double the average in the
Amazon.
o Manaus is also weak in respect to obesity, with fully 45% of its population
suffering this health condition.
The study found that the state of Amazonas—the largest Brazilian state at
1,570,745.7 km2, and one of the largest country subdivisions in the world, with a low
average income, and a population of almost 4 million inhabitants, in the heart of the
Amazonian biosphere, with dense jungles and forests—scores 54.92 on the IPS
Amazônia and is the third lowest performer of all the Amazonian states.
o The social progress framework reveals that it is in the Social Progress Index
Dimensions of Opportunity, and also Foundations of Wellbeing, that this
state performs the worst: 15% of children (10-14 years old) have to work, and
15% of teenage girls (15- 17 years old) already have children.
o These performances set the stage for only 37% of women to complete at least
a basic education, and only 23% of children to go on to secondary school.
About #Progresso Social Brasil
#Progresso Social Brasil is an emerging network of partners that convenes different sectors of
society in Brazil around the shared objective of improving social progress, under the
leadership of Fundación Avina and Deloitte Brazil. #Progresso Social Brasil is a member of
the global Social Progress Network.
More information about #Progresso Social Brasil: progressosocial.org.br
About Imazon
Imazon is a non-profit research institution classified as a Civil Society Public Interest
Organization (OSCIP), whose mission is to promote sustainable development in the Amazon
through studies, support for public policy formulation, broad dissemination of information
and capacity building. The institute was founded in 1990, and its head office is located in the
city of Belém, Pará, Brazil. In 21 years of operation Imazon has published more than 400
technical papers, of which about 170 are in scientific journals. The Institute has also
published 48 books, and more than 150 technical and public policy articles.
About the Social Progress Imperative
The Social Progress Imperative’s mission is to improve the lives of people around the world,
particularly the least well off, by advancing global social progress by: providing a robust,
holistic and innovative measurement tool—the Social Progress Index (SPI); fostering research
and knowledge-sharing on social progress; and equipping leaders and change-makers in
business, government and civil society with new tools to guide policies and programs. The
Social Progress Imperative is registered as a nonprofit organization in the United States, and
is grateful to the following organizations for their financial support: Cisco, Compartamos
Banco, Deloitte Global, Fundación Avina, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Skoll
Foundation.
About the Social Progress Network
The Social Progress Network is an expanding global movement of national networks, e.g.,
#Progresso Social Brasil, that convene different sectors of society in their country around the
shared objective of improving social progress. Country-level networks are composed of
multiple organizations, including corporations, civil society and philanthropic organizations,
branches of government, and academia, partnering to tackle challenges to social progress and
human wellbeing.
What is social progress?
Social progress is defined as the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its
citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens to improve their lives, and create the
conditions for individuals and communities to meet their full potential.
Other information
There are 773 municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon. Due to data gaps for Mojuí dos
Campos (Pará), this municipality was not included, and only 772 appear in this study.
Contact information
Mike Williams / +44 (0) 78 3796 1855 / mike@westminsterpa.com (London)