Venezuela, Suriname, Colombia Commit to the Amazon Rainforest

On Tuesday, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, and Suriname's President Chan Santoki participated in the panel "Amazon as a Pillar of Climate and Life Balance," which took place at the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP27).

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They agreed on the importance of the world's largest natural forest, which must be protected through "a coordinated, efficient, conscious, and active recovery process", President Maduro highlighted in his speech at the Sharm el International Convention Center Sheikh, in Egypt.

Petro announced that Colombia would allocate US$200 million per year for the next two decades to save the Amazon and maintain this biome as a "CO2 absorption sponge."

"We have a responsibility to the world. That is why it is essential to take the initiative to revitalize the Amazon rainforest and its natural beauty," Colombian president said, stressing that South American countries must commit to its protection.

"Today, I want to welcome you to the great Amazon agreement so that this effort becomes one of the great flags of humanity", he added, recalling that all countries are beneficiaries of the ecosystem services provided by the Amazon rainforest.

”We have a responsibility to protect world's lungs. That is why we will support, in every way possible, the initiatives that protect this ecosystem,” Suriname's President Santoki said, proposing the creation of a group of scientists dedicated to the protection of the Amazon.

Finally, Maduro invited to strengthen the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), an intergovernmental institution that encompasses Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.