The Treaty for Amazonian Cooperation (TAC) was signed in Brasilia, Brazil, on July 3, 1978, by the foreign ministers of the eight Amazonian countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It is a legal instrument of a technical nature that seeks to promote the harmonious and integrated development of the basin as a foundation for a model of regional economic complementarity to improve the lives of the local people and permit the conservation and rational use of their resources.
Graph 1 - CUMULATIVE FINANCIAL RESOURCES, PLURINATIONAL PROJECT ON AMAZONIAN COOPERATION (Millions of US$)
The TAC provides for collaboration among the member countries to promote scientific and technological research and the exchange of information, rational use of natural resources, freedom of navigation on the Amazon river system, protection of navigation and trade, preservation of the cultural heritage, health care, the creation and operation of research centers, establishment of an appropriate transport and communications infrastructure, an increase in tourism, and cross - border trade. All these measures are to be implemented bilaterally or by groups of countries to promote the harmonious development of the territories involved.
The TAC is a framework treaty with provisions for agreements on specific issues. It is flexible enough to adjust to the changes and needs of the region. Its mechanisms are presented in Annex 1.
