The president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, today called on the countries of the Amazon to unite around the defense of this natural reserve, both in international forums and in the fight against those who destroy the forest.
Lula spoke with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, at the closing of the “Road to the Amazon Summit” meeting, which has been taking place since Thursday in the city of Letícia, capital of the Colombian department of Amazonas, where he stated that the countries of the region have challenges that they must face together.
“We must join efforts so that, in international discussions, our voice is heard in conferences on climate, biodiversity and desertification and in debates on sustainable development”, said the Brazilian president.
In this sense, Lula defended the institutional strengthening of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA).
ACTO “has not received the attention it deserves” and that is why the Amazon Summit, which will take place on August 8 and 9 in the Brazilian city of Belém do Pará, and for which this meeting in Letícia is a meeting high school, “it will be the moment to correct the course”, since it will be open “to the local authorities and to society”, said Lula.
“To translate this political impulse into practical terms, we want to institutionalize the Amazon Regional Observatory, which will systematize and monitor data from all countries to make public policies more effective” and better deal with phenomena such as droughts, floods, rains, fires and pollution of the water, he said.
Lula also proposed the creation of a committee of experts in the Amazon “to generate knowledge and produce scientifically-based recommendations” so that it also “protects intellectual property, genetic heritage and traditional knowledge.”
“We can do a lot if we give ACTO clear guidelines and adequate resources through a coalition of development banks and the mobilization of public and private resources,” defended Lula.
According to the Brazilian president, “caring for the Amazon is a privilege and a responsibility” because it is “a biome of interest to all humanity”, but it must be the eight countries of that basin – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru , Suriname and Venezuela- who must “decide how to give a decent life to our people and how to preserve our forests and our biodiversity.”
Lula stressed that his government is committed to eliminating illegal logging by 2030 and urged the Amazon countries to “assume this commitment” at the summit.
“Talking about the Amazon is talking about superlatives: it is the largest tropical forest in the world, it is home to 10% of all animal and plant species on the planet, it has 50 million inhabitants with 400 indigenous peoples who speak 300 languages, it has the largest freshest water reserves on the planet, including a true underground ocean”, explained the Brazilian president.
Source: TSF
