Connexion Amazone - Andes

The Amazon is the world's largest river basin and comprises about 40% of the planet's tropical forests. It plays a key role in the water, energy, and carbon cycles that interact with the global climate system. The Amazon system now faces great risks due to climate change and increased deforestation. The main goal of AMANECER is to better understand how climate change and regional modification of land cover could affect the water cycle in tropical South America, particularly in the Andes. One of the most important actions of the project was the co-construction of A unique South American – French research network, including scientists from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. 6 PhD students, 3 master students and 1 postdoc participated providing key results for the project (all these students come from South America). Among them, 2 PhD students and 1 postdoc received direct funding from the AMANECER-MOPGA project. AMANECER project published 55 scientific papers distributed in our three main objectives: i) Extreme events and impacts on Amazon vegetation (25 papers); ii) Assessment of Amazon-Andes hydroclimatic connectivity (23 papers); and iii) Future hydroclimate scenarios related to climate change and deforestation (7 papers).

Results of the project contributed to several documents for policy makers and governments, e.g. : The IPCC report about Climate change and Land (2019); The first Amazon Assessment report (2021) of the Science Panel for the Amazon (United Nations), the statement for the United Nation Biodiversity Summit (2021) and the Policy Brief presented to Presidents of the Amazonian countries during the Amazon Summit in August 2023. Several courses and training for young researchers and students and talks for the general audience were organized. Finally, AMANECER worked in close collaboration with GEWEX-WCRP in the creation of the Regional Hydroclimatic Program for the Andes (ANDEX).