Amazon wetlands are among the most valuable ecosystems on the planet. In addition to harboring a vital portion of the region’s biodiversity, they perform functions that are essential to the lives and well-being of millions of people: they regulate the water cycle, help stabilize the climate, provide food, and sustain the livelihoods of communities, primarily Indigenous and riverine populations.

Understanding the extent to which Amazon wetlands contribute to the well-being of local communities is essential for strengthening their conservation. For this reason, Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) led a regional initiative between 2025 and 2026 to assess the ecosystem services these territories provide and identify best practices for their conservation and sustainable use. The study covered eight wetlands in the region: the Yata River (Bolivia), the Juruá River (Brazil), the Inírida River Delta (Colombia), the Limoncocha Biological Reserve (Ecuador), North Rupununi (Guyana), the Pastaza Fan and the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve (Peru), and the Coppenamemonding Nature Reserve (Suriname). The analysis focused on services such as carbon sequestration, food provision, recreation (tourism), biodiversity, and water supply.

To achieve this, the CSF team conducted national workshops in the countries included in the study—with the exception of Guyana—to gather input from key stakeholders, including local communities, the public sector, and civil society organizations. These sessions provided an opportunity to exchange perspectives on the importance of ecosystem services, present the methodological approach used to estimate their potential value, and gather knowledge, experiences, and insights from the field. Likewise, the workshops helped to better understand local dynamics, including land-use practices and governance frameworks for the sustainable management of wetlands. Based on these exchanges, indicators were prioritized with a regional perspective, using the Ramsar Convention’s R-METT tool as a reference.

The results were validated with representatives from each country at a regional workshop held simultaneously in Bogotá and Puerto Inírida last December, a forum where economic valuation estimates were refined, indicators and management practices were reviewed, and collaboration among countries for the management of Amazon wetlands was fostered.

Taken together, the national workshops and the regional forum demonstrated the value of working in a coordinated manner from the local to the regional level. On the one hand, they made it possible to gather information, experiences, and perspectives directly from the field; on the other, they helped translate that knowledge into technical inputs and useful guidance for institutional dialogue and decision-making at the regional level.

This process demonstrated that it is possible to build robust regional approaches based on locally generated and validated information, while simultaneously strengthening wetland governance and coordination among stakeholders, countries, and management levels. This work was made possible by the regional project Amazon Sustainable Landscapes Program (ASL), led by the World Bank and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

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