Water resources are crucial for the balanced and sustainable development of the Amazon Basin and its inhabitants, providing essential ecological support for human activities and well-being in the region. Additionally, they play a vital role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems, the hydrological cycle, and the regional and global climate.

To ensure the sustainable development of the Amazon Basin, the eight countries that share it, united under the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) since 1992, adopted a collective vision that led to the creation of a Strategic Action Program (SAP) for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the region. This program considers the environmental, economic, social, and cultural aspects of the basin, while also addressing the need to enhance the population’s capacity to adapt to the threats posed by climate change.

Implementing IWRM in the world’s largest river basin presents numerous challenges stemming from the complexity of issues arising from socioeconomic development, anthropogenic impacts, and climate change. A process spearheaded by ACTO in 2013 and 2016, involving multiple stakeholders, aimed to identify and quantify transboundary problems related to water, revealing the magnitude of the challenge.

This participatory process resulted in the identification of Nine Regional Priority Transboundary Problems, such as water pollution and extreme hydroclimatic events, which were consolidated in the document titled Regional Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of the Amazon Basin (TDA). The TDA serves as one of the foundational pillars of the SAP.

Based on the findings of the TDA, the countries developed the 19 Strategic Actions outlined in the SAP with scientific rigor. These actions provide mandates that guide regional cooperation and the efforts of individual countries. They emphasize the importance of participatory management, information exchange, research, adaptation to climate variability and change, and the establishment of an appropriate institutional framework to achieve integrated and sustainable management of the Amazon Basin’s water resources.

The Belém Declaration

The recent Belém Declaration, signed on August 8, 2023, during the IV Presidential Summit of the Presidents of the Parties to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty in Belém do Pará (Brazil), underscores the importance of water resources management by updating the common agenda of Amazon cooperation. It emphasizes the significance of an integrated vision and collective action to address the political, social, economic, and environmental challenges facing the Amazon Region, with the goal of preventing it from reaching a point of no return.

The Belém Declaration outlines mandates aimed at safeguarding the human right to water, establishing the Amazonian Network of Water Authorities, enhancing cooperation in integrated hydro-meteorological monitoring and warning systems, and strengthening efforts to monitor water quality, among other objectives.