Transboundary Water Management of the Amazon Basin

Abstract

In this paper the Amazon Basin is presented and its hydrology and natural environment are described. Monitoring this large river basin is necessary and becomes more and more important when different scientific institutions show alarming forecasts of increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation in the basin as a result of climate change. The monitoring scheme developed by Brazil and its neighbours shows the importance of this activity and its role as a mechanism to improve co-operation among countries in the basin. The institutional mechanism for transboundary river basin management is the Amazon Basin Co-operation Treaty, signed by the nine countries of the basin. This treaty is described and can serve as a good example of how this type of problem can be tackled in other regions of the world.