Following a historic conference in Brazil on Tuesday, eight South American nations were unable to come to an agreement on a shared objective to protect the extremely vulnerable Amazon countries from destruction.
This is troubling because the world’s largest rainforest serves as an essential defense against the climate disaster.
ACTO’s Plans to Save Rainforest
Members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) convened for the first time in more than ten years with the intention of setting clear objectives to prevent a tipping point for the critically important rainforest.
By 2030, a uniform regional policy to halt deforestation should be in place, according to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who also pledged that his nation would have zero deforestation.
Under Jair Bolsonaro, Lula da Silva’s predecessor, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon accelerated quickly, and some scientists have warned the rainforest may be approaching a critical tipping point where it could turn into a grassy savannah, with significant implications for biodiversity and the climate crisis.
We haven’t spoken in fourteen years. In his introductory remarks on Tuesday in the Brazilian city of Belém, Lula da Silva noted that this is the first time we have met here in [the state of] Pará and the first time in the context of a significant escalation of the climate crisis.
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Importance of Amazon Unity
Never before has it been more crucial to continue and deepen this relationship. Together, we must address the issues of our day and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.
The Declaration of Belém, a list of environmental initiatives to establish a new shared agenda in the Amazon, was signed by the presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, as well as top officials from Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname.
According to a Brazilian government news release, the 113-point agenda of collaboration includes establishing an organization called the Amazon Alliance to Fight Deforestation among States Parties with the goal of preventing the Amazon region from reaching the point of no return.
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