The cycle of National Workshops for the Implementation of the Strategic Actions Program (SAP), being held in all member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA) since August, arrives this week in Suriname and Guyana. On October 2 and 3, Suriname will hold its workshop in Paramaribo, while Guyana will do so on October 4 and 5 in the capital, Georgetown.

The SAP was approved in 2017 by the 8 member countries and constitutes the first regional strategy for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Amazon Region. Its 19 strategic actions are fundamental for promoting collective responses to the rapid degradation of water resources, land, and biodiversity, strengthening the technical capacity of countries for the integrated and sustainable management of water, and enhancing the resilience of the population to the impacts and threats of climate variability.

National Workshops

The National Workshops for SAP Implementation provide inputs to drive priority actions aimed at strengthening national IWRM capacity in the Amazon Basin, including technical IWRM topics, as well as a cultural and educational perspective and the focus on gender equality in water management and use.

According to the methodology adopted in all countries, the workshops in Suriname and Guyana will be developed in two main parts: firstly, in a plenary session, national water management authorities will address the implementation of SAP within the framework of OTCA’s regional cooperation; subsequently, in the second part, participants will work in thematic groups on technical and cultural aspects of water management. In the case of Suriname, there will also be a specific group dealing with institutional strengthening of IWRM.

Development of National Action Plans (NAP)

In this way, the thematic groups will provide inputs to develop their National Action Plans (NAP). The NAP will be a document aligned with national policies and aimed at the implementation of SAP in its strategic lines of institutional strengthening for IWRM, climate change adaptation, and basin water resources monitoring. At the same time, local cultural and educational aspects relevant to the development of water issues will be considered.

In each event of this cycle of National Workshops for the Implementation of the Strategic Actions Program, OTCA offers training focused on methodologies and tools that facilitate the incorporation of gender equality in water management projects, programs, and policies.

The National Workshops are developed within the framework of the Amazon Basin Project – Implementation of SAP. This is an initiative of the 8 member countries of OTCA, executed by the Organization with the support of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).