The Amazon region (encompassing Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela) plays a vital role in global climate stability, as it contains 40% of the remaining tropical forests and shelters 25% of the planet’s terrestrial and aquatic biological diversity (10% in the Amazon Forest and 15% in the aquatic river system). The 8 Amazon countries signed in 1978 the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, and in 1995 these countries established the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization.
Scientists from Europe have cooperated for many years with their Brazilian, Colombian, Peruvian and other Amazon country partners to tackle the challenges of environmental protection and the opportunities presented by Amazon. The Amazonia+ Programme, funded by the European Union and launched in 2023, aims to bolster the capabilities of Amazonian governments and communities to reduce and prevent deforestation through strengthened regional cooperation. An example is the Group of Experts on Forest Fires in Latin America and the Caribbean (GEFF LAC) led by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission which supports regional collaboration and fire-related policy development through harmonisation and exchanges (see also GWIS - Support to Wildfire Management in LAC.)
EU Research and Innovation Programmes, namely Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) and Horizon Europe (2021-2027), have paved the way to rich scientific cooperation on the Amazon, which continues to evolve. It has been developed through Marie Skłodowska-Curie research and mobility Actions, the cutting-edge research of the European Research Council, and the collaborative research and innovation projects of leading scientific consortia under Pillar II of Horizon Europe, tackling major societal and global challenges. For example, in the area of Bioeconomy, for which the European Commission has a dedicated Bioeconomy Strategy since 2012 a myriad of EU-funded projects relate to the Amazon, ranging from forest-based cultural products to aquatic microbiomes.
Download a selection of on-going and recent research and innovation projects related to the Amazon:
