23 October 2014: The European Union (EU) has financed a project to strengthen protected areas systems in the Amazon. The ‘Amazon Conservation Vision’ will increase the protected areas’ resilience to climate change and promote the maintenance of environmental goods and services provision.

The four-year project aims to define conservation priorities, improve protected areas’ management and build a long-term financing strategy for the Vision, which will support Amazon countries in building a common pathway for conserving and managing their ecosystems and developing a regional conservation agenda. The project will also work to strengthen technical cooperation among the governments of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela as well as regional organizations.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will administer the project with coordination from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). The EU has provided €5.2 million for the project. [IUCN Press Release] [European Commission News]