Latin American Leaders Join in IV Amazon Summit

The presidents and minister delegates of the signatory countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) issued a final declaration on Tuesday at the IV Amazon Summit in which they pledged to strengthen a common agenda for the region, focused on environmental protection and the fight against poverty.

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The IV presidential summit of ACTO, is being held in the Brazilian city of Belém on August 8 and 9. The governments of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Peru and Suriname, which have sovereignty over this important biome, agreed on 113 points. 

The South American leaders seek to "join efforts" to "guarantee the conservation, protection and ecosystem and sociocultural connectivity of the Amazon," as well as "the sustainable development and well-being of its populations."

Regarding environmental care, the representatives of the countries call for the "establishment of the Amazon Alliance to Combat Deforestation," under the "urgency of agreeing on common goals until 2030 to combat" this problem. 

They seek to "eradicate and halt the advance of illegal extraction of natural resources and promote approaches to land management and transition to sustainable models, with the aim of achieving zero deforestation in the region."

The "Declaration of Belém" states that the common agenda will be adapted to new realities and will pay "special attention to indigenous peoples and local and traditional communities in vulnerable situations."

It also states that the cooperation agenda should be implemented "under the aegis of sustainable development, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, forests and water, and urgent action to avoid the point of no return in the Amazon," which is home to nearly 10% of the planet's biodiversity.

The tweet reads, "Many talk about the Amazon and often have never been there. Now it is the Amazon raising its voice so that the world makes a commitment to development combined with the preservation of our biome."

The summit also agreed to urge "developed countries" to fulfill their commitments to provide resources to developing countries to address the effects of climate change caused by CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions.

The measures include the goal of mobilizing $100 billion annually in "climate finance", while seeking to "promote innovative financing mechanisms for climate action, including debt-for-climate swaps" by these core nations. 

Along with the host president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the leaders of Bolivia, Luis Arce; Colombia, Gustavo Petro; and Peru, Dina Boluarte, are participating in the meeting. Also, present are the Prime Minister of Guyana, Mark Phillips, and the Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. Ecuador and Suriname are represented by ministers.