COP President Aims To Plug
Knowledge Holes In Amazon Nations

The Amazon region faces growing threats to its water, energy, food and health as climate change accelerates, and Peru is one of the nations that’s proven most adept at meeting that challenge. The country’s Environment Minister, who is also presiding over this year’s UN climate talks, says his country still has plenty of learning to do – and recommended a bit of homework.

The Amazon region faces growing threats to its water, energy, food and health as climate change accelerates, and Peru is one of the nations that’s proven most adept at meeting that challenge. The country’s Environment Minister, who is also presiding over this year’s UN climate talks, says his country still has plenty of learning to do – and recommended a bit of homework.

28 January 2014 | Peru this year will host both the year-end climate talks and the April Katoomba Meeting – and with good reason. The country’s economy and culture flow from both the Amazon rainforest and the Andean mountains, and it’s a world leader in the creation of financing mechanisms designed to keep those living ecosystems going. But the country’s Environment Minister – who is also acting as President of the 20th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 20) in Lima – says even the people of this forward-thinking nation don’t really understand the interplay between their economy and their ecology.

“We are still not completely aware of how the Amazonia ecosystem supports water, energy, food and health security,” said Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal as he promoted the Amazonia Security Agenda, a report authored last year by the Global Canopy Programme (GCP) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), with support from Climate & Development Knowledge Network and Fundacií³n Futuro Latinoamericano.

Calling the report “fundamental for decision makers in order for them to take action and make policies that aim to preserve the sustainable use of these resources and services,” he highlighted the growing awareness of the interrelations between climate change, water, food, and security.

“The concept of security is fundamental for improving decision-makers awareness of the implications of the threats to the provision of services, resources and ecosystem services,” he said.

Watch The Full Interview

Additional resources

Please see our Reprint Guidelines for details on republishing our articles.