Waterlilies in the Amazon, Iquitos, Peru

FAO

An agreement to support technical cooperation among countries through which the Amazon river flows has been signed by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).

The pact aims to boost sustainable development of the Amazon basin's biodiversity. Key areas identified for urgent action are: water management; the promotion of environmental health; environmental protection and economic integration; protecting indigenous people; and the conservation of biological diversity.

The Amazon Treaty was signed by Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname in 1978 to cooperate in managing the world's largest freshwater river basin, which contains much of the planet's biological diversity.