Why develop a Strategic Action Program for the Amazon Basin
1
Protect the globally important and endangered watershed.
2
Provide collective responses to the rapid degradation of water resources, land, and biodiversity.
3
Promote the sustainable use of water as a strategic resource for Amazon countries.
4
Reinforce the Amazon peoples’ ability to adapt to the threats of climate variability.
5
Strengthen the technical capacity of the countries for integrated water resources management.
6
Develop the Amazon region based on equitable social, economic and environmental parameters.
The Strategic Action Program
In 2017, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) achieved a significant milestone with the approval and adoption of the first Regional Strategy for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Amazon Basin by its eight Member Countries – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. This shared commitment to managing the largest river basin on the planet in an integrated and sustainable manner holds regional and global importance.
The development of the 19 Strategic Actions of the Strategic Action Program (SAP) was a result of a comprehensive participatory process coordinated by ACTO between 2013 and 2016. These actions were crafted with scientific precision to address the 9 Regional Priority Transboundary Issues identified by national stakeholders. By establishing strategies and priorities for regional action, the SAP serves as a guiding framework that enhances cooperation among Amazonian countries for the sustainable development of the Amazon. It aims to make the protection and conservation of the Amazon Basin more effective while fostering the population’s capacity to adapt to the threats of climate change.
Currently, the implementation of the Strategic Action Program (SAP) is underway as part of the Amazon Basin Project, featuring activities and interventions aimed at benefiting 7.8 million people in the region.
Shared vision of the 8 ACTO countries on IWRM
“Water resources are strategic for the balanced and sustainable development of the peoples of the Amazon River Basin. These resources are subject to protection and conservation for their multiple uses with the purpose of improving the quality of life* of present and future generations, respecting the ethnic and cultural diversity and the sovereignty of the Member Countries. The integrated management of water resources is made feasible by means of participatory management, exchange of information, research, implementation of actions to adapt to climate variability and change, through regional cooperation and the support of adequate institutions.”
Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis of the Amazon Basin
Through an extensive participatory endeavor involving social and institutional stakeholders, the eight Amazonian countries, alongside the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), undertook the preparation of a Regional Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) of the Amazon Basin. This comprehensive analysis served to identify and prioritize the region’s 9 Priority Transboundary Issues. The significance of the TDA Process is twofold: firstly, it facilitated the acquisition of new technical and scientific insights into the basin, and secondly, it documented the diverse needs and interests of Amazonian society. These essential elements laid the groundwork for defining the Strategic Lines of Response and formulating the Strategic Actions outlined within the SAP.
