{"id":242763,"date":"2023-08-28T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=242763"},"modified":"2023-08-22T05:05:17","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T04:05:17","slug":"amazon-nations-launch-alliance-to-protect-rainforest-at-key-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/08\/amazon-nations-launch-alliance-to-protect-rainforest-at-key-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Nations Launch Alliance to Protect Rainforest at Key Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela sign declaration to safeguard the Amazon.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_242766\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/amazon-cooperation-treaty-organization-lula-rainforest-environ.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-242766\" class=\"wp-image-242766\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/amazon-cooperation-treaty-organization-lula-rainforest-environ.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/amazon-cooperation-treaty-organization-lula-rainforest-environ.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/amazon-cooperation-treaty-organization-lula-rainforest-environ-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/amazon-cooperation-treaty-organization-lula-rainforest-environ-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-242766\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brazil&#8217;s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends the summit of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, in Belem, Brazil on August 8, 2023<br \/>[Ricardo Stuckert\/Brazil Presidency handout via Reuters]<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>9 Aug 2023 &#8211; <\/em>Eight South American countries have agreed to launch an alliance to protect the Amazon, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/8\/7\/brazil-hosting-amazon-summit-what-you-need-to-know\" >pledging at a summit in Brazil<\/a> to stop the world\u2019s biggest rainforest from reaching \u201ca point of no return\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Leaders from South American nations also challenged developed countries to do more to stop the enormous destruction of the world\u2019s largest rainforest, a task they said cannot fall to just a few countries when the crisis has been caused by so many.<\/p>\n<p>The closely-watched summit of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) adopted on Tuesday what host country Brazil called a \u201cnew and ambitious shared agenda\u201d to save the rainforest, a crucial buffer against climate change that experts warn is being pushed to the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s members \u2013 Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela \u2013 signed a joint declaration in Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River, laying out a nearly 10,000-word roadmap to promote sustainable development, end deforestation and fight the organised crime that fuels it.<\/p>\n<p>But the summit attendees stopped short of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/program\/inside-story\/2023\/8\/7\/what-unites-and-divides-the-amazon-rainforest-nations\" >agreeing to the key demands<\/a> of environmentalists and Indigenous groups, including for all member countries to adopt Brazil\u2019s pledge to end illegal deforestation by 2030 and Colombia\u2019s pledge to halt new oil exploration. Instead, countries will be left to pursue their individual deforestation goals.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/14680746\/embed\" width=\"700\" height=\"575\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-newsletter-slot\">\n<div class=\"sib-newsletter-form general-style\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup Widget\">\n<div class=\"sib-form-container\">\n<div class=\"sib-container--large sib-container--horizontal\">\n<div class=\"sign-up-for-al-jazeera-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has staked his international reputation on improving Brazil\u2019s environmental standing, had been pushing for the region to unite behind a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/8\/3\/deforestation-in-brazils-amazon-falls-66-percent-in-july\" >common policy of ending deforestation<\/a> by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>The two-day summit opened on the same day the European Union\u2019s climate observatory confirmed that July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. Lula emphasised the \u201csevere worsening of the climate crisis\u201d in his opening speech.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe challenges of our era and the opportunities arising from them demand we act in unison,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has never been so urgent,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Colombian President Gustavo Petro urged a radical rethink of the global economy, calling for a \u201cMarshall Plan\u201d-style strategy in which developing countries\u2019 debt is cancelled in exchange for action to protect the climate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re on the verge of extinction and this is the decade when the big decisions have to be made\u2026 then what are we doing, besides giving speeches?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The failure of the eight Amazon countries to agree on a binding pact to protect their forests was greeted with disappointment by some.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe planet is melting, we are breaking temperature records every day. It is not possible that, in a scenario like this, eight Amazonian countries are unable to put in a statement \u2013 in large letters \u2013 that deforestation needs to be zero,\u201d said Marcio Astrini of the environmental lobby group Climate Observatory.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond deforestation, the \u201cBelem Declaration\u201d, the gathering\u2019s official proclamation issued on Tuesday, also did not fix a deadline on ending <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/8\/4\/brazil-gold-mine-puts-indigenous-territory-at-risk-advocates-say\" >illegal gold mining<\/a>, although leaders agreed to cooperate on the issue and better combat cross-border environmental crime.<\/p>\n<p>Al Jazeera\u2019s Latin America editor Lucia Newman, reporting from the summit in Belem, said Lula da Silva had hoped for a strong commitment from peers at the summit to end deforestation in the Amazon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCritics say the final document was full of good intentions but short on deadlines,\u201d Newman said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNevertheless, there did seem to be a greater sense of urgency among the eight Amazonian nation leaders. Deforestation of the world\u2019s largest rainforest has already reached 17 percent and, according to scientists, the tipping point is almost here,\u201d Newman said.<\/p>\n<p>Home to an estimated 10 percent of Earth\u2019s biodiversity, 50 million people and hundreds of billions of trees, the vast Amazon is a vital carbon sink, reducing global warming.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists warn the destruction of the rainforest is pushing it dangerously close to a \u201ctipping point\u201d beyond which trees would die off and release carbon rather than absorb it, with catastrophic consequences for the climate.<\/p>\n<p>Seeking to pressure the gathered heads of state, hundreds of environmentalists, activists and Indigenous demonstrators marched to the conference venue, urging bold action.<\/p>\n<p>This is the first summit in 14 years for the eight-nation group, set up in 1995 by the South American countries that share the Amazon basin. The summit is also being seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2025 United Nations climate talks, which Belem will host.<\/p>\n<p>______________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><em>Read More:<\/em><\/p>\n<article class=\"more-on__article css-m0f37v\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"more-on__article-heading\"><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/7\/7\/brazils-amazon-deforestation-drops-sharply-in-first-half-of-2023?traffic_source=KeepReading\" class=\"more-on__link\" ><strong>Brazil\u2019s Amazon deforestation drops sharply in first half of 2023<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"more-on__article css-m0f37v\"><em><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/8\/3\/deforestation-in-brazils-amazon-falls-66-percent-in-july?traffic_source=KeepReading\" class=\"more-on__link\" >Deforestation in Brazil\u2019s Amazon falls to lowest level since 2017<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/8\/7\/brazil-hosting-amazon-summit-what-you-need-to-know?traffic_source=KeepReading\" class=\"more-on__link\" >Brazil hosts \u2018landmark\u2019 Amazon summit: What you need to know<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<article class=\"more-on__article css-m0f37v\">\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/program\/inside-story\/2023\/8\/7\/what-unites-and-divides-the-amazon-rainforest-nations?traffic_source=KeepReading\" class=\"more-on__link\" >What unites and divides the Amazon rainforest nations?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/8\/9\/amazon-nations-launch-alliance-to-protect-rainforest-at-key-summit\" >Go to Original &#8211; aljazeera.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>9 Aug 2023 &#8211; Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela sign declaration to safeguard the Amazon Rainforest (aka Lungs of the World).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":242766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[2302,536,519,401,1255],"class_list":["post-242763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-and-the-caribbean","tag-amazon","tag-amazonia","tag-ecology","tag-environment","tag-rain-forests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242763"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242769,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242763\/revisions\/242769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}