On October 27, an inter-institutional cooperation agreement was signed in a virtual event with the following participants: Ministry of Environment and Water, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and 28 Amazon Decentralized Autonomous Governments. The objective of the meeting was to formalize the parties’ commitment to continue coordinated work on the development of local planning projects and instruments, including: Development and Land Use Planning Plans (DLUPP) and Land Use Management Plans (LUMP).

The agreement will last 4 years from the time it is signed, and will create an institutional and operational framework for implementing policies and local actions aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, promoting sustainable, deforestation-free production and forest conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

PROAmazonía, an initiative of the Ministry of Environment and Water (MAAE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) with the support of UNDP, will implement this agreement in coordination with GADs; this will give continuity to the technical assistance it has provided to three levels of Decentralized Autonomous Governments since 2019, to update their DLUPPs. The objective is to implement restoration programs in deforested areas, agriculture and livestock projects, create protected areas, and other projects

It was mentioned during the event that this agreement is an enabling instrument that will facilitate the implementation and application of specialized public policies focused on the needs of the Amazon, given its biophysical and socio-cultural characteristics, which will promote the sustainable use of the natural resources of the region and improve the living conditions of its inhabitants.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Environment and Water, Paulo Proaño; the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Xavier Laso; the representative of the United Nations Development Program, Matilde Mordt, the Coordinator of the Policy and Institutionality Component of PROAmazonía, Verónica Estrella; and representatives of municipalities, prefectures and parish councils of the six Amazonian provinces, Sucumbíos, Orellana, Napo, Pastaza, Morona Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe.

Through joint work by the institutions of the three levels of government, it will help promote development in the provinces of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and protect biodiversity and the enormous natural wealth that makes this landscape a unique place in the world.