February 24: The First Meeting of Water Directors of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) was convened in Brasilia, Brazil, from 23-24 February 2011. Organized by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and National Water Agency (ANA), with support from the ACTO Permanent Secretariat, the event gathered national water authorities from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname to exchange information about water management policy and practice in the Amazon countries and explore avenues for cooperation on water issues.

The attendees discussed the need for a regular mechanism for dialogue and cooperation on integrated water resources management in the region, and heard from the Secretary-General of the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee of the Countries of the La Plata Basin (CIC) about how Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay coordinate their work on similar issues in the La Plata River Basin. Participants at the meeting expressed an interest in pursuing a regional technical cooperation initiative proposed by ABC and ANA, and asked those two agencies to coordinate the project. The water directors also agreed to cooperate in implementing the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-Amazonas project “Integrated and Sustainable Management of Transboundary Water Resources in the Amazon River Basin Considering Climate Variability and Climate Change.”

The participants decided to hold a Second Meeting of Water Directors in Ecuador in the first quarter of 2012. [ACTO Press Release]