The Permanent Secretary of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) presented the Project Identification Template proposal, titled “Towards a better understanding of the Amazonian Aquifer Systems for their protection and sustainable management” to the Global Environmental Facility (GEF-8) on April 11.
This proposal was jointly developed with the 8 Member Countries of ACTO: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela. They showed their support and commitment to this critical Regional Project with eight letters of endorsement of support. The project also had the participation and development by the executing agencies of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The project seeks to promote a common understanding of the relevance and functioning of the Amazon Aquifer Systems in order to strengthen regional governance and groundwater management for their protection, sustainable use, improvement of water security, and the resilience of the ecosystems in the Amazon Region.
It is expected to generate direct environmental and water improvement benefits for the residents of the municipalities involved in the pilot projects by preventing aquifer degradation resulting from overexploitation and contamination.
