It has published many reports on aspects of conserving the Amazon environment, has had a significant impact on environmental policy in Brazil, and has developed tools through which deforestation may be viewed online.

Imazon was founded on 10 July 1990 at the initiative of the American ecologist Christopher Uhl, then a visiting researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), with Adalberto Veríssimo, David McGrath and Paulo Barreto with the mission of promoting sustainable development in the Brazilian Amazon.

[2] Imazon is designated by the Brazil Ministry of Justice as a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest (Oscip).

[5] Imazon is respected for their research in fields such as rehabilitation of deforested area and the micro-economics of forestry, agriculture and ranching in the east of the Amazon region.

In the field, Imazon personnel have worked with loggers to show ways to harvest timber that cause lower environmental impact.