Development of the Amazon Regional Observatory has begun

Providing an information platform on the Amazon is one of the main objectives of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization.

The process of selecting and contracting companies to develop the Amazon Regional Observatory (ORA) was finalized in December 2020 and activities are already underway.

The first – INGENIOSIG Cía. Ltda. of Ecuador – is responsible for the development and implementation of the ORA and publication through the ACTO website, with its different operable modules with their functionalities, including the collection, interoperability and uploading of pre-existing and available public information from official sources of ACTO Member Countries and other sources. The company IQUITOS PLAY SRL, from Peru, is in charge of developing and implementing the CITES thematic module with all its functionalities, and publishing it in the Observatory.

Both activities are part of Component 1 – National and regional information and knowledge management systems – of the Bioamazonia Project. This component aims to improve and balance the level of information and knowledge management by supporting and strengthening the Biodiversity and CITES information systems of the ACTO Member Countries, as well as the information management of the ACTO Permanent Secretariat.

Context
ACTO Member Countries have been generating qualitative and quantitative information in different areas (forests, water resources, flora and fauna species threatened with extinction, among others); however, this information has not yet been articulated or available at the regional level. Thus, the implementation of the Amazon Regional Observatory has been prioritized by ACTO as a space for articulation in different areas of information in the Amazon countries.
The forecast is that the final products of the consultancies will be completed by the end of July 2021.