XII MEETING OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTERS OF THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE AMAZON COOPERATION TREATY ORGANIZATION DECLARATION OF EL COCA Upon completion of the thirty-three years after the beginning of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), fifteen years after the creation of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and eleven years since the headquarters establishment of the Permanent Secretariat Foreign Ministers of the Member Countries of the Organization of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, meeting in its XII meeting in the city of El Coca, Republic of Ecuador, on May 3, 2013: REAFIRM the principles, purposes and objectives of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty. REMARK the contribution of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization to strengthen the importance of the population and Amazon region has for each of the Member Countries as integral part of their territories; REAFIRM full sovereignty and the rights of Member Countries on its Amazon region. EXPRESS their commitment to deepen, broaden and strengthen the process of Amazon regional cooperation, promoting harmonious and comprehensive development of their respective Amazon territories in the exercise of its sovereign rights, allowing to reach the objectives of an equitable distribution of benefits of such development; ACKNOWLEDGE that the development should be achieved by balancing the use of sustainable / sustainably resources, its protection and conservation in ways that promote the transformation of inclusive current economic development models, harmonious and respectful of nature s rights / Mother Earth, its ecosystems and peoples' rights as part of a comprehensive process-oriented wellbeing of local populations and, in particular, indigenous and other tribal communities, in accordance with the democratic spirit and solidarity of ACTO Members; EXPRESS their willingness to continue cooperating on environmental, economic, technological, scientific, social areas, especially in the area of health and education, and trade, under the provisions of TCA and recognize the need to increase cooperation for research and sustainable use of the Amazon resources, respecting the sovereign rights of Member Countries; HIGHLIGHT the support and the contribution of South-South cooperation as an instrument for reducing asymmetries and for an appropriate coordinated regional action, and believe that it should promote and strengthen these initiatives through the possible provision of new and additional resources and an effective technology transfer and training;
REAFIRM the importance of the challenges that climate change raises to the Amazon region and the responsibility assumed by member states of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities; UNDERLINE the attention it deserves in the Amazon, natural heritage of the Member Countries of ACTO, from the point of view of their populations, ecosystems and biodiversity, thus reiterating the need to reduce the economic, environmental and social vulnerability of the region, strengthening the responsiveness coordination of Member Countries to address these challenges; DECLARE their satisfaction with the progress and achievements in the process of re launching the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, under the mandates of the Declaration on the OTCA of the Heads of State held in November, 2009, and of the decisions taken in the Lima Declaration of November 2010, and the Manaus Commitment of November 2011, and RENEW its firm decision to continue strengthening institutionally and financially ACTO Permanent Secretariat, providing new and additional resources for full execution of the mandates and the Amazon Cooperation Strategic Agenda; Therefore, RESOLVE to adopt the following Declaration: 1. Strengthen Amazon identity of the Member Countries, pursuant to the provisions of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty as a major tool for sustainable development of the Amazonian populations. 2. Promote the strengthening of institutional actions in the implementation of the Treaty, with the active participation of the Amazonian populations, particularly indigenous and other tribal communities, to strengthen the sustainable use of natural resources and the fair and equitable of its benefits. 3. Highlighting the important role of ACTO in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio +20, by conducting a parallel event and presentation of regional cooperation opportunities. In this context, creating a space for dialogue to reflection, analysis and discussion on the process of discussion of Sustainable Development Objectives (ODS) is performed within the United Nations. 4. Coordinate joint policies and strategies to safeguard the Amazon territory in order to meet the challenges that affect the environment and society in the Amazon region, taking into account respect for the sovereignty, International Law and domestic law. 5. Strengthening partnership among Member Countries in science and technology, so
that it supports the actions taken by governments to strengthen their capabilities in the overall defense of the mega-biodiversity of the Amazon, as well as to counteract illicit activities that affect human, cultural, and natural resources in the region, in pursuit of the objectives set by the Regional Meetings of Science, Technology and Education. 6. Recognize and support the efforts of mitigation and adaptation of climate change that voluntarily are developed in the region, according to the principle of common responsibilities but differentiated. Notice Ecuador s efforts in promoting the initiative submitted to the framework of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change to encourage mitigation in the various sectors of the economy and safeguard the environmental integrity. 7. Recognize that harmony with nature is necessary for sustainable development. In this framework the Member Countries of ACTO, in its strong commitment to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems, should seek to create spaces for debate and discussion addressing a holistic and comprehensive vision. In this sense, they support the countries of the region in their efforts in relation to the promotion of the Rights of Nature / Mother Earth, to achieve sustainable development. Such virtue, they instruct the PS / ACTO conducting a seminar that allows the dialogue on this issue to be held in the second half, of 2013. 8. Hold a meeting of the Member Countries of ACTO in the city of Quito, the 25 th and 26 th of June 2013, to formulate a proposal for the creation of the network of Amazonian Research Centers from a background document prepared by Ecuador. 9. To establish the AMAZONIAN REGIONAL MONITORING CENTRE as a permanent forum that brings institutions and authorities related to the study of the Amazon, as a reference center of regional information in biodiversity, natural resources and social diversity of the Amazon region. To enable their operation, it will have a regulation that must be considered at a meeting of a Special Working Group on the Regional Monitoring Centre that will be held the 25 th and 26 th of June, 2013 in Quito-Ecuador. 10. To protect and rescue, in the framework of national legislation and International Law, traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and other Amazonian tribal communities and guarantee the collective right to equal participation in the benefits generated by such knowledge. 11. Cooperate to develop tools to enable Member Countries to strengthen the rights of indigenous people over their traditional knowledge associated with biological diversity of the Amazon. In that sense, they emphasize the IV Meeting of High Level Officials on Indigenous Affairs of the Member Countries held in Paramaribo, Suriname, from the 24th to 26 th of April, 2012, and instruct the CEC to prepare a Regional Initiative Proposal as soon as possible. 12. Encourage the coordination process among Member Countries in order to facilitate the coordination process between the Organization of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Union of South American Nations, the Andean Community, MERCOSUR, CARICOM, with the purpose to avoid duplication of efforts and strengthen the process of regional and South-American integration.
13. To express its satisfaction with the results that have been achieved in the Project, "Integrated and Sustainable Management of Trans boundary Water Resources in the Amazon River considering climate variability and climate change" 14. Prioritize public policy of the Amazon forest of sustainable management, as well as promoting access to sustainable forest management technologies and the establishment of regional research networks and development of forestry. In this context, highlighting the progress of the Regional Monitoring Program of Deforestation in the two Executive Committee meetings that were held in 2012 and 2013. 15. Highlight the adoption of the project Forest Coverage Monitoring by the Brazilian Government through the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES) in the area of the Amazon Fund. In this context reaffirm their support for the earliest possible date the contract is signed granting non-reimbursable financial cooperation between the PS / ACTO and BNDES. 16. Adopt the recommendations of the First Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee to propose and examine initiatives in the area of social development in the Amazon region, with emphasis on social inclusion, poverty alleviation and the eradication of extreme poverty, to develop issues of social inclusion in the Strategic Agenda of ACTO during 2013. 17. Instruct the CEC, in coordination with the Permanent Secretariat, supporting the Working Group on Social Inclusion in the Amazon, avoiding duplication of efforts. 18. To convoke ACTO Member Countries to a meeting of analysis and development of various concepts such as food sovereignty and its relation to food security and the right to food as an initial activity to consider the productive subject within the Strategic Agenda. 19. The convening of a meeting of experts from Member Countries to address the climate change issue, in order to exchange experiences and generate discussion. The expert meetings will, among other things, address and contribute to understanding the efforts by each country, providing opportunities to upgrade, information, training and networking approach with major funding. 20. Stimulate processes to promote the image of the Amazon as a worldwide geotourist destination, strengthening regional information on the subject and promoting eco-tourism and related productive activities in line with the sustainable development of the Amazon, incorporating community-based tourism environmentally sustainable / sustainably as a crosscutting. Consequently, they highlight the results of the Third Regional Meeting of Tourism, held in Georgetown, Guyana from 12th to the13th of June, 2012. 21. Continue in 2014 with the upgrade of the annual quota system, preferably to look for the final goal of renovation until 2018, each country adopting a schedule and percentages of own annual updates, according to their budget structures. 22. Instruct the Amazon Cooperation Council to develop a strategy for long-term
financing for strategic activities of the Amazon Cooperation Agenda, preferably with resources from the countries themselves, constituting to that effect a Working Group that shall meet within maximum of sixty days from this date and complete its work by December 2013. 23. Strongly promote the necessary measures to effectively provide greater dynamism to the process of approval and implementation of regional cooperation projects. In this context, highlighting the advances in the Programs and Projects being implemented in the monitoring areas of forest coverage, integrated water resource management, environmental health surveillance, strategic framework for the protection of indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact, criteria and indicators for sustainable management of the Amazon forest, electronic permits for the preservation of flora and fauna and forest biodiversity, among others. 24. Remark the prioritization Project Profile for Management, Monitoring and Control Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Threatened by Trade, to be executed with non refundable funds. Also welcome the agreement for the implementation of a new phase of the Amazon Regional Program for the period 2013-2017. 25. Recognize the progress of the National Seminars executed by the Member Countries and to call for the implementation of the outstanding National Seminars as soon as possible. Establish the Regional Seminar themed adopting the following structure: i) The Amazon today: social, economic and environmental situation, ii) The Amazon in the international arena: The Amazon and ACTO after Rio +20; iii) Participation of the local society in development - alternatives for interaction with ACTO, and iv) ACTO as a scene for regional cooperation: progress and success from the Amazon. 26. Promote the effective participation of Amazon populations at ACTO through dialogue and interaction in a broad, democratic, intercultural, transparent, pluralistic, diverse and independent with the various Amazon actors, establishing effective channels of information and monitoring the various activities of ACTO. Also generate innovative mechanisms and spaces to encourage discussion of various issues ensuring that the proposals that have been submitted by the Amazonian populations receive adequate consideration arising, among others, in the context of the Regional Seminars. 27. Cooperation among Member Countries to fight immune preventable diseases, endemic and vector-borne diseases by establishing regional institutional and academic networks, as well as communication and information mechanisms. In this context, greet and welcome the results of the II Regional Health Meeting, held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on July 18 and 19th, 2012. 28. Form a Working Group dedicated to develop a common strategy on illegal mining in the Amazon and propose cooperation mechanisms required to operate the strategy, taking into account the guidelines of the Declaration on Illegal Mining in the Amazon Basin, adopted by the II Meeting of Ministers of Environment of ACTO held in March, 2012.
29. Highlighting the progress that is being made to exchange experiences on issues related to genetic biodiversity resources and traditional knowledge in that sense, accept the recommendations of the regional meeting technical about mechanisms to protect traditional knowledge associated with biodiversity, held on 22 and 23 May 2012, instructing the PS / ACTO to distribute as soon as possible the work plan proposal on the subject.(matter) 30. Recognizing the important role of the collective actions of indigenous people, other tribal and local communities as outspoken contribution to the conservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity. 31. Expressing its firm rejection of any claim of ownership by others of geographical names of the Countries of ACTO in general and the name.amazonia or related, without the consent of the Amazon Countries. Thank the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of Peru by the efforts advanced in the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), in defense of regional interests with respect to the claim to register the domain name.amazon and ask to continue with the corresponding actions in that instance, reaffirming the right of the Member Countries of ACTO in defense of the sovereignty and the interests and rights of current and future of the Amazon people and their inclusion in the information society. 32. In the framework of the RES XI MRE-OTCA/07 November 22 2011, urging the revival of the working group of commercial navigation, chaired by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and instruct it to resume its activities and make the fifth meeting in 2013 with a view to finalize the negotiations of the Regulation. 33. To welcome the announcement of the donation of a piece of land by the Brazilian Government for the installation of future ACTO Head, fulfilling the commitment made by the time of signature of the Headquarters Agreement. Reinforce the need to channel the efforts to build the headquarters building and think about alternatives for its funding. 34. The Government of Suriname offered to host the XIII Meeting of Foreign Ministers in 2014. The Government of Venezuela offered to host the XIV Meeting of Foreign Ministers in 2015. Thank you for the cordial reception and hospitality offered by the Ecuadorian government and brotherly people and congratulate the work of the Permanent Secretariat for the success of the XII Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OTCA. El Coca, Ecuador, May 3, 2013
Plurinational State of Bolivia Republic of Brazil Republic of Brazil Republic of Brazil Republic of Colombia Republic of Ecuador Republic of Guyana Republic of Peru Republic of Surinam For the Bolivarian Government of the Republic of Venezuela