AMAZON RIVER

CE387 TRANSBOUNDARY WATER RESOURCES

Eusebio IngolFebruary 14, 2008

Location

• Countries:• Peru• Brazil• Colombia• Ecuador • Venezuela• Guyana, surinama• French Guiana • Cover more less 44% South

America ContinentAltitude: 6500 m in the Andes

Main Tributaries

• Rio Maranon• Rio Ucayali• Rio Napo• Rio Japura• Rio Silimoes• Rio Purus• Rio Negro• Rio Madeira• Rio Tapajos• Rio 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

Drainage Area Distribution

16.0%

12.0%

2.4%

5.7%

0.7%

0.1%

0.2%

62.9%

Peru

Bolivia

Ecuador

Colombia

Venezuela

Suriname

Guyane

Brazil

Land Cover

Percent Forest Cover: 73.4

Percent Grassland,

Savanna and Shrubland: 10.2

Percent Wetlands: 8.3

Percent Cropland: 14.1

Percent Irrigated Cropland: 0.1

Percent Dryland Area: 6.0

Percent Urban and

Industrial Area: 0.6

Percent Loss of Original

Forest Cover: 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.

ProjectsSome 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 Uatumã River in

Amazonas state, and Samuel Dam on the Jamari

River