In a courtesy call paid to the ACTO headquarters, the Ambassador of Suriname visited the facilities of the Amazonian Regional Observatory and learned about the ARO’s work methodology.
The Ambassador of Suriname in Brazil, Mrs. Angeladebie Ramkisoen, visited, on February 25, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) headquarters to participate in a working meeting. The ACTO Executive Director, Ambassador Carlos Lazary, was the organizer of the meeting.
It was an opportunity for the official representative of Suriname to learn about the global work of ACTO, visit the facilities of ACTO and the Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO), as well as to meet the representatives of various projects implemented by the Organization.
Among the main joint actions of ACTO and Suriname related to the Regional Project for the management, monitoring, and control of wild fauna and flora species threatened by trade (Bioamazon), are, particularly, to support the improvement of the technical capacity in the management of CITES species in Suriname, to consolidate a national information system on biodiversity with the acquisition of equipment, to conduct consultancies, and the establishment of an electronic emission system for CITES species connected to the Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE) to facilitate exports.
To support the sustainable management of flora and fauna species within the framework of the CITES Convention, the Bioamazon Project contributed the amount of US$ 319,226 for the acquisition of 60 items, including goods and assets, such as portable computing equipment, printers, computer material, laboratory equipment, digital cameras, projectors, TV sets, uniforms, GPS, servers, electrical generators, a boat, tools, motors, a 4X4 vehicle, as well as the construction of a work office, among other items. In 2021, eight technical consultancies were also hired for a total amount of US$ 322,420.
Amazon Regional Observatory
The Ambassador of Suriname also visited the facilities of the Amazonian Regional Observatory and learned about the ARO’s work methodology. The ARO’s creation was approved during the XII Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, in which the ministers decided to “establish the Amazonian Regional Observatory (ARO) as the permanent forum that brings together institutions and authorities linked to the study of the Amazon, as a reference center for regional information on biodiversity, natural resources and social diversity of the Amazon Region”. In November 2021, the PS/OTCA inaugurated the Observatory, which is in continuous development with data contributions by the Member Countries and the development of new modules.
Published in the Bioamazon Newsletter, issue n. 13, Jan-Feb 2022. ========================================================================
