The Amazon Cities Forum was recently launched with the objective of building a new sustainable development vision for the Amazon region. The Forum will serve as a permanent platform for Amazon mayors to collaborate, exchange best practices and experiences, and jointly address the social and environmental challenges faced by cities and territories while ensuring the peoples’ rights and leadership.

The Forum, which seeks to become part of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), will be supported by the IDB’s “Amazonia Forever”, a holistic regional program that aims to accelerate the region’s development through a territorial approach that scales up financing, shares knowledge, and enhances regional coordination and collaboration across the eight Amazon countries.

Mayors will drive a comprehensive program for sustainable urbanization in the Amazon region, encompassing urban growth management and planning, infrastructure, climate change mitigation and adaptation, social inclusion and equity, sustainable waste management, and water and sanitation among others.