The Regional Monitoring Group is a technical-scientific cooperation body among the eight Member Countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), created to strengthen regional monitoring of the quantity and quality of surface waters in the Amazon Basin.

Established within the framework of the implementation of the Strategic Actions Program (SAP), the Group brings together representatives of the national institutions responsible for hydrological monitoring, water quality, and the management of networks and databases. Its work seeks to consolidate a regional monitoring system by promoting information integration, the harmonization of methodologies, and the strengthening of countries’ technical capacities.

One of its main responsibilities is to support the consolidation and operation of the Amazon Hydrological Network (AHN) and the Amazon Water Quality Network (WQN), contributing to the implementation of the regional monitoring protocols adopted by the Amazon Network of Water Authorities (ANWA) in 2025.

The Group also works to identify gaps and areas for improvement in national networks, define procedures for data exchange, promote regional monitoring campaigns, and strengthen cooperation among laboratories. Its responsibilities further include developing pilot projects, preparing regional indicators and reports, and fostering cooperation in shared basins and transboundary rivers.

The information generated by the monitoring networks feeds into the Integrated Platform for Integrated Water Resources Management, which is linked to the Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO), expanding the availability of comparable data and scientific knowledge on the state of the region’s water resources.

Composition and Operation

The Group is made up of principal and alternate representatives officially designated by the eight ACTO Member Countries, linked to hydrological and water quality monitoring networks, as well as to the services responsible for managing hydrometric networks and databases.

It holds regular meetings at least twice a year, in addition to extraordinary meetings when necessary. The ACTO Permanent Secretariat and the Regional Coordination Unit of the Amazon Basin Project provide technical and organizational support to its activities.

Coordination with ANWA

The Regional Monitoring Group operates in coordination with the Amazon Network of Water Authorities (ANWA), which serves as the permanent institutional space for dialogue, coordination, and cooperation among the national authorities responsible for water resources management in the Amazon countries.

While the Group carries out the technical-scientific coordination needed to generate and integrate regional information, ANWA provides the institutional space for presenting results and coordinating joint actions.

This complementarity strengthens cooperation among the countries and contributes to decision-making grounded in scientific evidence, supporting the implementation of the SAP and the advancement of integrated and sustainable management of water resources in the Amazon Basin.

  • TOR Consolidation and Operation of Regional Surface Water Quality And Quantity Monitoring