USAID and Ministry of Environment Sign Agreement to Launch of Program of Technical Cooperation on Amazon Biodiversity Conservation

On April 5, 2018, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Country Director, Michael Eddy, and Minister of the Environment, José Sarney Filho, signed an agreement on the Amazon Biodiversity Conservation Program of Technical Cooperation in a ceremony with participants from the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the Chico Mendes Institute (ICMBio) and the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (FUNAI). This agreement adds a contribution of US$30 million to the program in the Amazon. With this additional contribution, the project has US$ 80 million.

This “Program of Technical Cooperation” (PCT), developed by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC/MRE), outlines ABC’s understanding of the specific activities to be executed under a bilateral agreement signed by USAID, in August 2014, with the Government of Brazil to form a partnership to preserve biodiversity in the Brazilian Amazon region. Through this partnership, the U.S and the Brazilian governments are working to implement activities in protected areas and indigenous lands in the Amazon with direct impact in local biodiversity conservation. The agreement also includes the use of science, technology and partnerships with the private sector to advance biodiversity conservation.