AMAZONIA+ PROGRAMME

The European Union Commission adopted in June 2019 a Communication promoting the protection and restoration of forests globally. In this document, it recommends the creation of a multi-stakeholder platform to foster exchange and promote certification schemes for deforestation-free products, with the aim of combating imported deforestation. In addition, the EU is committed to reducing, through legislation, the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with commodity imports.  

It is in this context that the EU-funded Amazonia+ Programme, implemented by AICS (leader of the initiative), FIIAPP and Expertise France, in collaboration with the Joint European Research Center (JRC) on scientific and academic aspects, has emerged.  

The main purpose of the Amazon+ Programme is to strengthen the capacity of the eight Amazon basin countries (Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela) to mitigate CO2 emissions, adapt to climate change, reduce deforestation and protect biodiversity. It focuses on combating deforestation, forest degradation and promoting sustainable forest management. It also seeks to prevent, monitor, control, combat and remediate the impacts of forest fires. It also focuses on the development and implementation of environmental and forest governance policies and mechanisms, with the active participation of local communities and indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin.