The Guardian: Amazon leaders have called on rich countries to help them develop a Marshall-style plan to protect the world’s largest rainforest – but stopped short of committing to zero deforestation across the biome by 2030 amid divisions over oil extraction. In a joint declaration at the end of a two-day summit in the Brazilian city of Belém on Wednesday, the eight South American countries that are home to the Amazon rainforest said ensuring its survival could not be solely up to them, as resources from the forest were consumed globally.
Members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization did not agree a shared commitment to end deforestation this decade, which had been hoped for in the run-up to the regional meeting. The countries were unable to agree a united position on the role of extractive industries in the region such as beef, oil and mining, which are the primary drivers of its destruction.
But they signalled they would work together to ensure the forest’s survival through sustainable economic development, appealing for extra resources from industrialised countries to do so before Cop28. Brazil and Colombia have reported falling deforestation rates under new leadership in the past 12 months.In the declaration, Amazon leaders called for debt relief in exchange for climate action, agreed to strengthen regional law enforcement cooperation to crack down on human rights violations, illegal mining and pollution, and urged industrialised countries to comply with obligations to provide financial support to developing countries.
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, told delegates at the closing of the summit: “The forest unites us. It is time to look at the heart of our continent and consolidate, once and for all, our Amazon identity. “The Amazon is our passport to a new relationship with the world, a more symmetric relationship, in which our resources are not exploited to benefit few, but rather valued and put in the service of everyone.”