The Program was approved by delegates from the eight ACTO Member Countries. The first initiative to be implemented under this Program will be a rapid assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Amazon region to be carried out using the methodological basis of the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) begins the implementation of the Regional Biodiversity Program for the Amazon Basin/Region, approved by delegates from the eight ACTO Member Countries at a meeting held on May 21, 2021.
The Regional Biodiversity Program for the Amazon Basin/Amazon Region of ACTO was built in a participatory manner throughout 2020 and the first months of this year, and will be the guiding framework for the development and implementation of strategic actions for regional cooperation on biodiversity in the Amazon Region, thus reflecting a shared vision of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
The objectives of the Program are to improve the management of biological diversity and the protection of the traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities and other Tribal Communities of the Amazon Basin/Region, through short, medium and long term collaboration and cooperation actions to achieve the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), its management instruments and the objectives and goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; recognizing the visions, approaches, models and instruments implemented in accordance with the national regulations of the Member Countries.
The Program has four components, as follows:
- Regional scientific analysis of the status, trends and causes of biodiversity loss and deterioration of ecosystem benefits/environmental functions/environmental services/contributions of nature to people, in the Amazon Region, as well as advances in restoration and sustainability in the uses of biodiversity.
- Regional mechanisms and instruments to support conservation, restoration, forest management and sustainable use of biological diversity components.
- Strengthening national capacities for the management of biological diversity with regional impact.
- Strategic planning and institutional strengthening of ACTO.
The Biodiversity Program for the Amazon Basin/Region is the result of international cooperation between ACTO and the German government, with technical and financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the GIZ, through the ACTO Biomaz project. Its development is also supported by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC).
Scientific assessment of biological diversity
Within the scope of the Program, the rapid assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Amazon Region has been initiated.
The regional assessment will be developed in the conceptual and methodological format of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and will be carried out with the expert advice of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Scientific Research in Colombia.
Made up of scientists, researchers and academics officially designated by ACTO Member Countries, the Committee seeks to ensure the quality of the process of collecting, organizing and systematizing the scientific studies that make up the assessment.
The regional assessment will analyze the current state of biological diversity, ecosystem services, their interrelations with society and the contributions of knowledge, including traditional knowledge in the region, in addition to identifying trends, threats and opportunities for the conservation and sustainable use of nature. The main recommendations will be systematized in a chapter for decision-makers, with the objective of guiding national and regional policies that contribute to achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the future post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the CBD.
Launching of the Regional Biodiversity Program for the Amazon Basin/Region
In commemoration of the 43rd anniversary of the signing of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), and in the framework of the approval of the Program, the Webinar: Launch of the Amazon Biodiversity Program – We are part of the solution! will be held on July 1, 2021, from 10h to 12h10 (Brasilia time), for the presentation and dissemination of the important contribution to the sustainable management of biodiversity in the Region.
The Webinar will have the important participation of representatives of the CBD, IPBES, BMZ, ABC and the eight Amazonian countries – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
For reference, please find below:
The preliminary program of the event: ENG_Webinar_Preliminary Agenda
Link to register for the event:
Published in the Bioamazon Newsletter, issue n. 9, May-June 2021.
