In a virtual event held last Friday, October 8, 2021, the Permanent Secretariat of ACTO coordinated the First Meeting of Authors of the Assessment of the State of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Amazon. This assessment is part of the Regional Program on Biological Diversity of the Amazon Region/Basin, approved last May by ACTO member countries.
This first meeting had important participants, such as the president of the IPBES platform, Ana Maria Hernandez, representatives of the national Assessments from Colombia and Brazil, as well as experts in many areas of knowledge, recognized worldwide for their contribution to Biodiversity. A total of 116 people attended the meeting, including authors, chapter coordinators and co-chairs, selected to lead the elaboration of the Amazon Assessment. The technical support was provided by the Technical Unit of ACTO, the Van Humboldt Institute and GIZ.
The meeting was led by ACTO Executive Director, Ambassador Carlos Lazary, with the participation of the Secretary General, Alexandra Moreira. In her intervention, the SG shared her vision on the importance of scientific data in the current complex context in which the Amazon Region finds itself. She emphasized that this assessment will contribute significantly to the solution of the region’s problems and will be a milestone in the regional management of the Amazon.
The meeting was informative, and the new assessment authors received an overview of the assessment process. They also received feedback from experts who participated in the national assessments in Colombia and Brazil. With the outcome of this meeting, the authors have all the initial elements to start with the elaboration of the assessment.
