Belém (Brazil), November 2025. With the aim of strengthening knowledge production and expanding academic cooperation in the Amazon, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and the Association of Amazonian Universities (UNAMAZ) signed today a Letter of Intent during the morning program at the UNAMAZ and BioTec Amazônia stand in the Green Zone of COP30.
The document — signed by ACTO’s Secretary-General, Martin von Hildebrand, and UNAMAZ’s Pro Tempore President, Prof. Dr. José Seixas Lourenço, marks the beginning of a new phase of collaboration between Amazonian governments and universities to advance science, technology, innovation, and intercultural education across the eight countries of the Amazon Basin.
A renewed commitment to education and Amazonian knowledge
The agreement aligns with the strategic agenda outlined by Member Countries in the Belém Declaration (2023) and reaffirmed in the Bogotá Declaration (2025), which emphasize the need to strengthen research networks and capacity-building efforts to address regional challenges such as climate change, biodiversity, water, forest resources, and public health.
It also responds to the mandate of Resolution RES/XIV MRE-ACTO/26, which reactivated the cooperation mechanism between ACTO and UNAMAZ and recognized the university network as a key technical partner for joint initiatives.
Science, traditional knowledge, and capacity-building
The Letter of Intent establishes priority areas for joint work, including:
- academic and scientific integration among universities of the Amazonian countries;
- capacity-building for young researchers, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities;
- promotion of intercultural education and the valorization of traditional knowledge, with full respect for free, prior, and informed consent;
- exchange and management of scientific and technological information, including the use of the Amazon Regional Observatory (ORA);
- identification of projects in areas such as innovation, biodiversity, water, forests, and health.
First steps and upcoming actions
According to the document, the two institutions will define a joint work plan within the next three months, supported by periodic meetings to coordinate activities and monitor progress. The Letter entails no financial commitments but establishes a cooperation framework that will enable the development of specific initiatives in the future.
With this partnership, ACTO and UNAMAZ place knowledge at the center of regional solutions, reinforcing the role of Amazonian academia as a bridge connecting science, public policy, and the communities living within the biome.
