Governing Across Borders: Enhancing Transboundary Water Management in the Acre Trinational River Basin

The Amazon Basin, the world’s largest and most biodiverse river system, spans nine countries and plays a critical role in supporting ecosystems, Indigenous People, local communities, and global climate regulation. However, its transboundary nature presents complex governance challenges, shaped by competing economic interests, climate change, and fragmented institutional frameworks. Ensuring ecological sustainability, equitable resource use, and conflict mitigation requires coordinated, cross-border action. 

Governance in the Amazon operates across multiple scales—local, national, and international—involving diverse stakeholders, from governments and Indigenous communities to non-governmental organizations and private entities. Yet, traditional state-centric approaches often fail to address the socio-ecological complexity of the basin. While the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) has fostered regional collaboration since 1995, there remains an urgent need for more integrated and adaptive governance frameworks that strengthen local participation and transnational coordination. 

Climate risks in the Amazon, such as those affecting shared ecosystems and hydrological systems, further underscore the need for transboundary cooperation. The Acre Trinational River Basin—shared by Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru—faces these challenges firsthand, requiring coordinated governance to address climate vulnerabilities and ensure sustainable water management. For instance, the MAP region (Madre de Dios in Peru, Acre in Brazil, and Pando in Bolivia) faces extreme hydroclimatic events, such as prolonged floods and increasingly intense rainfall, which have become more frequent in recent years. These changes highlight the urgent need for adaptive governance and transboundary cooperation to mitigate risks and enhance resilience. 

This project will generate key insights and practical recommendations to strengthen transboundary water governance in the Acre Trinational River Basin. The main outputs include: 

• Frameworks and strategies for governance and climate resilience: Development of adaptive governance methodologies and climate risk management protocols to enhance transboundary coordination. 

• Mechanisms for strengthening boundary organizations: Exploration of strategies that empower organizations to facilitate collaboration across borders. 

• Policy insights for decision-makers: A synthesized policy brief providing actionable recommendations for regional stakeholders and institutions. 

• Research and knowledge dissemination: A final publication analyzing governance challenges and opportunities, ensuring findings are shared with relevant audiences. 

These outputs will contribute to improved institutional coordination, climate-informed decision-making, and long-term sustainability in the Amazon Basin.

Partners & Funders

This project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through the Stockholm Environment Institute’s Global Research Committee.