This week, Venezuela will bring together relevant national stakeholders in a workshop to identify priority actions for the integrated management of the Amazon waters. The event, to be held on November 9 and 10 in Caracas, is part of the cycle of National Workshops for the Implementation of the Strategic Actions Program (PAE), being held in all member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), within the framework of the Amazon Basin Project.

The Strategic Actions Program (PAE) is a regional cooperation instrument adopted in 2017 by the ACTO countries to ensure the integrated and sustainable management of transboundary water resources in the Amazon River basin in a context of variability and climate change. The holding of national workshops aims to prepare governments and society for the implementation of the strategic actions envisaged in the PAE, with a view to strengthening Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), institutional adaptation to variability and climate change, and knowledge management.

The event in Caracas, organized by the Ministry of Popular Power for Ecosocialism and ACTO, will bring together experts and other key national actors in the areas of water management, culture, and education to formulate recommendations for the PAE implementation process, combining technical and cultural dimensions and seeking to identify opportunities for regional collaboration. Additionally, the workshop will provide gender training to increase national capacity to plan, monitor, and evaluate the incorporation of gender issues into the PAE implementation. Thus, it will contribute to the formulation of the National Action Plan (NAP).

In each of the ACTO countries, the NAP will be a document aligned with national policies and aimed at implementing the PAE in its main strategic lines. At the same time, relevant local cultural and educational aspects related to water issues will be taken into account.