Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, along with other South American leaders, is facing pressure to present innovative solutions to save the damaged Amazon as they commence a summit on the world’s largest rainforest.
The Brazilian officials have pledged to develop an ambitious roadmap to halt deforestation during the two-day meeting of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization in Belem, located at the mouth of the Amazon river.
This is the first summit in 14 years for the eight-nation group, established in 1995 by the South American countries sharing the Amazon basin: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The Amazon, which is home to approximately 10 percent of the Earth’s biodiversity, 50 million people, and an immense number of trees, plays a crucial role as a carbon sink, mitigating global warming.
However, scientists are warning that deforestation is pushing the Amazon dangerously close to a “tipping point,” where trees would die off and release carbon, resulting in catastrophic consequences for the climate.
The countries in the region are determined “not to let the Amazon reach a point of no return,” stated Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva during a ministerial meeting before the summit.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira mentioned that the summit will produce a joint declaration outlining “instructions” for the eight countries to implement “new targets and new tasks” in order to protect the rainforest from deforestation.
He further mentioned that the working draft of the declaration was negotiated in record time of just over a month.
Brazil, Colombia: Competing Priorities
Deforestation in the region is primarily driven by cattle ranching and is exacerbated by corruption, land-grabbing, and organized crime, which are linked to the illegal trade of drugs, arms, timber, and gold.
In Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of beef and soy, and with 60 percent of the Amazon within its borders, approximately one-fifth of the rainforest has already been destroyed.
Environmental groups are urging all eight countries to adopt Brazil’s commitment to eliminate illegal deforestation by 2030. However, host country officials suggest that these negotiations might require more time.
“Each country has its unique dynamics. We don’t work by imposing a single point of view. It’s a consensual and progressive process,” stated Silva on Monday.
Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro is urging other countries to join his pledge to ban all new oil exploration. This is a sensitive subject for oil-rich Venezuela and Brazil, where the state-run oil company Petrobras is controversially seeking to explore new offshore areas at the mouth of the Amazon river.
Silva praised the initiatives of both leaders, stating, “We have two presidents with strong commitments: the Colombian president with zero petroleum and Lula with zero deforestation.”
Lula’s Test
The summit represents a pivotal moment for veteran leftist Lula, who previously served as the president from 2003 to 2010 and returned to office in January with the commitment to combat climate change after four years of rampant deforestation in the Amazon under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazil aims to achieve multiple goals during the summit, including the establishment of an international police task force for the region and a scientific research group modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which advises the UN climate talks.
The summit also serves as a dress rehearsal for the COP30 UN climate talks, which will be held in Belem in 2025.
“If the region is serious about becoming a leader in climate action, this summit should deliver concrete results,” stated the US-based activist group Avaaz.
Indigenous groups, whose protected lands play a crucial role in preserving the world’s forests, are urging South American leaders to take bold actions. Nemo Guiquita, the head of Ecuadoran Indigenous confederation CONFENIAE, said, “Our struggle is not just for Indigenous peoples, it’s for the entire world so that future generations can survive on this planet,” in an interview with AFP.
Author: AFP
This article is based on the original article from AFP and has been modified for SEO optimization purposes.
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