This study has endeavored to assess how the current situation of rapid deforestation and environmental degradation of the Amazon could be handled through enhanced international cooperation among the Amazon States inter se, and between them and the international community. To examine what forms of cooperation exist (and would be required) among the basin States and, in order to understand what role the international community can play in the international legal protection of the Amazon, the study attempted to systematize existing legally binding and nonbinding instruments adopted by the Amazon States inter se, and between them and other States, applicable to the Amazon as a whole or parts of it. These legal instruments, as well as some institutions working toward the protection of the Amazon at different levels (subregional, regional, and global), in which the Amazon States participate, comprise the proposed “international legal system of the Amazon.” The overview of the existing international legal instruments and institutions at different levels provided an indication of how the Amazon States have cooperated inter se, with other States in the region and, more broadly, with the international community. It has also revealed some of the normative and institutional weaknesses within this system, which, if addressed, could render it more robust and effective, and ultimately contribute to tackling current environmental problems.

COOPERATION AMONG THE AMAZON STATES INTER SE

Due to a combination of factors, the international system of the Amazon is fragile.