AMAZON RIVER

CE387 TRANSBOUNDARY WATER

RESOURCES
Eusebio Ingol
February 14, 2008

Location

Countries:
Peru
Brazil
Colombia
Ecuador
Venezuela
Guyana, surinama
French Guiana
Cover more less 44%
South America
Continent
Altitude: 6500 m in the
Andes

Main Tributaries

Rio
Rio
Rio
Rio
Rio
Rio
Rio
Rio
Rio
Rio

Maranon
Ucayali
Napo
Japura
Silimoes
Purus
Negro
Madeira
Tapajos
Xingu

Main characteristics

Amazon river is the

greatest in south America,
second in the world after
Nile River.
In term of volume is the
greatest.
6,200 km2 drainage area
6,500 km of length.
210,000 M3/sec
20% of the freshwater in
the world.
10 million population:
Iquitos, Manaus,
indigenous communities
Precipitation:
200 mm to 6000 mm per
year

180,000 M3/sec
220,000

Area Distribution

Land Cover

Percent Forest Cover:

Percent Grassland,
Savanna and Shrubland:
Percent Wetlands:
Percent Cropland:
Percent Irrigated Cropland:
Percent Dryland Area: 6.0
Percent Urban and
Industrial Area:
Percent Loss of Original
Forest Cover:

73.4
10.2
8.3
14.1
0.1

0.6
13.2

Population Density

Basin Area (sq. km.): 6,145,186

Average Population Density
(people per sq. km.): 4
Number of Large Cities (>100,000
people): 16
Water Supply per Person (1995)
(m3/person/year): 273,767

Precipitation

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/LBA/

Precipitation

Environmental Problems

Deforestation causes erosion and soil loss, sedimentation in the rivers, unbalance in the
vital ecosystem.

The expansion of urbanization; destruction of the fragile ecosystems.

Two largest cities in river basin: Manaus and Belen (over 1.5 million).

Iquitos (Peru), Leticia(Colombia), Lago Agrio(Ecuador)

Water pollution and quality degradation

Use of the agriculture pesticides, inadequate wastewater treament from populated
area
Inadequate water use, and

Change of the hydrologi cycle related with climate change.

Deforestation

Main Causes:
Cattle racnches
Agriculture. Small scale
230,000 square km during
the past 13 years.
Now 7,700 square km per
year.

1,000 tons/km2/year of sediment flowing to the Atlantic Ocean

600-800 tons per year.
65 % Silimoes
35 % Madeira

Deforestation by country

Water Pollution
Problems wastewater treatment in cities such as Iquitos
(Peru), Manaus and Belen in Brazil, Leticia in Colombia.
Over 0.5 million of gold miners are located through the
Amazon River Basin
100 Tons of mercury are estimated to be dumped in the
Amazon Basin.
Gold-mining has caused mercury contamination of the
rivers which poses a serious health threat to local human
and animal populations
Studies carried out in Tapajos River basin shown high
levels of mercury in fishermen 14 -20 PPM on the Average

Treaty 1978
Treaty of cooperation among the countries of the Amazon basin
Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Surinam,
and Venezuela. 07/03/1978
The Contracting countries agree to carry out joint actions and
efforts to promote the harmonious development of their
respective Amazonian territories in such a way that these joint
actions produce equitable and mutually beneficial results; as
such as the environment preservation and the conservation
and rational utilization of the natural resources .
This treaty was re launched in 1998.

Navigation Treaties
Port Manaus
Ocean ships can navigate more less 1600 km
Iquitos In Peru. Riverboats. Transport of different
products.
Treaty of commerce and river navigation between
Brazil and Colombia August 21, 1908.
Treaty of commerce and river navigation between
Brazil and Bolivia August 12, 1910
Treaty of delimitation, commerce and navigation
between Brazil y Peru. Treaty 1918 ratified in
1927.

Projects
Project GEF Amazon. OTCA/GEF/PNUMA/OEA.
Integrated and sustainable management of
transboundary water resources in the Amazon
River basin. United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP). Oct 2005.
The main objective of this project is strengthen
the institutional framework for planning and
carry out activities for the protection and
integrated management of the land and water
resources in a coordinated and coherent manner
in the Amazon River basin, considering the
climatic change experienced in the basin.

Projects
Some World Bank projects:
Integrated management of aquatic resources in the Amazon region project (AQUABIO)
The objective is to support to the multi-stakeholder, integrated management approach to
the conservation and sustainable use o f freshwater biodiversity in public policies
and programs in the Brazilian Amazon River Basin (2005)
Amazon region protected areas project (ARPA) . 2002
28 million will be protected over 10 years.
Pilot program to conserve the Brazilian rainforest (PPG7). 1992.
Pilot Program floodplain resources management project (PROVERZEA). 2000

Amazon region protected areas project (ARPA)

2002

2006

Pilot program to conserve the Brazilian

rainforest

Fishing and floodplain

Over 1700 species of freshwater
More less 50 species are marked human for
consumption.
Tambaqui, Jaraqui, Tucunure, species of catfish:
Pirapitinga and Piraruca.
Area flood plain: 307,300 square Kilometers (4.5
% total area)
Conflict of human groups: riberihnos.
After, 1946, the Brazilian Federal government
established: Floodplain as federal land.

Dams and hydropower

90 % of the electricity produced in Brazil is from
hydropower.
Tucurui Dam. Hydropower generation, no
irrigation.
8,000 MW. The largest dams built in a tropical
rainforest with 2,875 km2. It has displaced 40,000
people, destroyed the habit fish and plants.
Belo Monte Dam built on Xingu River
The Balbina dam on the Uatum River in Amazonas
state, and Samuel Dam on the Jamari River