The Amazon Basin Project began its implementation in 2021 with the main objective of supporting the eight member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela – in the execution of the Strategic Action Program (SAP) for the Integrated Management of Water Resources in the Amazon Basin. The SAP is a regional strategy built on a shared vision between the countries, with the aim of promoting key actions for the protection and conservation of the Amazon Basin, with a view to the integrated and sustainable management of its water resources (IWRM), for the benefit of Amazonian populations and ecosystems.

Executed by ACTO in partnership with Amazonian countries, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implementation by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Amazon Basin Project carries out national and regional activities and interventions to promote the capacity to respond to the region’s main problems, such as water pollution and biodiversity loss, and to adapt to the impacts of climate change. In this way, the Project will enable Amazonian countries to advance towards their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets of environmental conventions.

From source to sea

With an approach that addresses the water continuum from source to sea, considering the links between water and land to include riverside and coastal ecosystems in the Amazon Basin, regional, national and local actions are being implemented throughout the basin. To this end, networks are being set up to monitor the quantity and quality of water in rivers and aquifers, as well as early warning systems (EWS) and forest rehabilitation projects, among others. The aim is to reduce the impacts of extreme weather events and rising sea levels, prevent and reduce water pollution and overexploitation, and promote water security and the efficient use of water in the region.

Through interventions implemented over five years, the Amazon Basin Project will strengthen institutional structures for IWRM in Amazonian countries, provide consistent and compatible information to support decision-making by public, private and community actors in the long term and increase community resilience, bringing socio-economic and environmental benefits to 7.8 million people and strengthening transboundary water management in the Amazon.

The set of actions planned by the Project to strengthen Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) will also prepare the countries for regional cooperation and institutional interaction and support them in the inclusion of the gender perspective in projects, programs, plans and national policies, considering the fundamental role of women in environmental management and the importance of their equal participation in decision-making related to water management in the Amazon.

Integrated environmental monitoring system

The Amazon Basin Project will consolidate and operate an Integrated Water Resources Monitoring System with data from national information systems on water quality, rainfall rates and river levels and flows, providing essential support for innovative and participatory governance of the Amazon Basin.

The data from the Integrated Monitoring System will be available on a Regional Integrated Information Platform on IWRM in the Amazon Basin hosted on the Amazon Regional Observatory – ARO, ACTO’s informatic platform.