The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched Amazonia Forever, a holistic umbrella programme that aims to scale up financing, share strategic knowledge for decision-makers, and enhance regional coordination to accelerate the sustainable, inclusive and resilient development of the Amazon region.

The announcement was made after last Friday’s (June 30) meeting between the IDB governors for Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname.

The governors, who are ministers of finance, economy, planning or other top officials, signed a joint statement in support of the new programme. They previously discussed the creation of the programme during the IDB’s annual meeting in Panama.

According to the IDB, Amazonia Forever will address the following priority areas: local people; sustainable agriculture and forestry; the bioeconomy; infrastructure; sustainable cities; and connectivity.

It will focus on promoting the inclusion of women, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and local communities; climate and forest conservation; and strengthening institutional capacities and the rule of law.

“We must look carefully at all aspects of the Amazon region, with people and nature at the center of our approach. There are multiple initiatives in support of the Amazon. And the IDB is the ideal conduit for donors and partners to coordinate efforts for the region. Increasing our collaboration and ambition is critical to maximizing impact,” said IDB president Ilan Goldfajn.

“We are honored to have the support of our governors, and we are ready to broaden our current work. Amazonia Forever is an umbrella program that welcomes all partners committed to the sustainable development of the Amazon region,” he added.

The programme will have a three-pronged approach:

• Platform to map financial resources
• Project preparation facility
• A metwork of ministers of finance and planning

The platform to map all existing financial resources dedicated to the Amazon from Amazon countries and other donors. It will be a tool which will facilitate new financing and help guide policy and investment decisions.

Amazonia Forever also seeks to create a project-preparation facility to develop investment plans for Amazon territories and significantly scale up the IDB’s US$1 billion project pipeline already identified for the region in 2023.

It also aims to enable and support initiatives led by other institutions, networks and alliances that can benefit from the IDB’s financial instruments, knowledge and regional mandate.

The IDB governors also established a network of ministers of financing and planning and a technical group, supported by the IDB, that will oversee Amazonia Forever’s progress and results on economic and financial matters, including scaling up financing, joint taxonomies and innovative financing instruments.

These efforts aim to contribute to the Amazon countries’ resolutions at the Amazon Summit, to be held in Brazil in August.

The Amazon region is critical to ecosystems worldwide, providing 40 per cent of Latin America’s fresh water and regulating nutrient and hydrological cycles for the South American continent. Given the growing scientific consensus that the Amazon Basin is reaching an ecological “tipping point,” there is an urgent need to act boldly by implementing a new development model.

The IDB has been working in the Amazon region since its creation in 1959, investing in sustainable development and sustainable agriculture, education, urban development, social inclusion, and fiscal management, among other areas.

Currently, the bank maintains a multisectoral technical team in each Amazon country and has an Amazon Coordination Unit within its Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector, which is responsible for coordinating Amazonia Forever.