The delegations highlighted the importance of the ACTO networks in strengthening capacities, sharing experiences, and translating shared priorities into concrete actions.
Rome, September 29, 2026. During the second day of the 28th session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO28), the Member Countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) highlighted the role of the Amazonian Network of Forest Authorities (RAFO) and the Amazonian Network for Integrated Fire Management (RAMIF) as functioning regional mechanisms that contribute to strengthening cooperation in addressing Amazonian challenges related to sustainable forest management and integrated fire management.
Statements by the delegations of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru underscored the importance of these networks in coordinating national capacities, sharing knowledge, and promoting coordinated responses that complement the efforts of each country.
In its statement on behalf of the ACTO Member Countries and in its capacity as Pro Tempore Presidency of RAFO, Peru, through the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), noted that specialized regional networks help bring cooperation closer to the needs of countries, strengthen institutional and local capacities, and transform national experiences into regional responses that can be adapted and scaled up.
A Regional Forest Agenda Under Implementation
The Peruvian intervention highlighted that the RAFO 2025–2027 Work Plan, aligned with ACTO’s Regional Forest Program, prioritizes technical and financial cooperation, the exchange of experiences, knowledge, and technologies, and the development of policies and actions for the sustainable management of Amazonian forests.
Within this framework, the network has been promoting exchanges on the conservation and maintenance of forest cover, community forest management, restoration, forest degradation, monitoring, and the effective participation of Indigenous peoples and local and traditional communities.
The intervention also highlighted coordination with the Amazonian Regional Observatory (ARO), while respecting each country’s official sources and methodologies, as well as coordination with RAMIF to connect sustainable forest management with integrated fire management, restoration, and territorial resilience.
A Call to Strengthen Cooperation
The Amazonian countries called on FAO, the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and other partners to strengthen their engagement with ACTO and its technical networks. They also highlighted the need for accessible and predictable technical and financial cooperation mechanisms, guided by the priorities defined by the countries themselves.
With the support of the ACTO Permanent Secretariat, RAFO and RAMIF continue to consolidate joint working spaces to advance an Amazonian agenda that integrates conservation, sustainable forest management, and integrated fire management.
