Building an Eco-Innovation Cluster: Water Cluster in the Brazilian Amazon Region

This paper discusses the creation of an innovation water cluster in the Brazilian Amazon region, capitalizing in the region’s unique global competitive advantage in the development of a water innovation economy. The existence of academic institutions, research agencies, a manufacturing park, and unique natural resources offer the right environment for the creation of this water eco-innovation cluster in the city of Manaus. The development of an innovation economy in the city of Manaus in the Amazon will promote a new cycle of economic development in the region, and induce a new cycle of attraction of environmental technology companies to the Amazon region of Brazil. In addition, it will also address social objectives of the Amazon region, increasing social-economic welfare and promoting eco-competitiveness as a cornerstone of the nation’s economy. This paper outlines a link between cluster theory and a water diamond model with sustainability as its major goal.