(above) An indigenous Tikuna man from Colombia stands between the flags of Ecuador and Bolivia during the Amazon summit at the National University in Leticia, Colombia, on Friday. | AFP-JIJI

Leaders of seven Amazon nations meet to bolster rainforest protection as fires rage on
September 7, 2019 - Original Article: Japan Times

By Rodrigo Almonacid, AFP
LETICIA, COLOMBIA – Presidents and ministers from seven Amazon countries met in Colombia on Friday to agree on measures to protect the world’s biggest rainforest, under threat from wildfires and rampant deforestation.

The summit took place in the wake of an international outcry over months of raging fires that have devastated swaths of the Amazon in Brazil and Bolivia.

The gathering aimed “to foster a space for regional dialogue to advance the protection and sustainable use of this region, which is essential for the survival of the planet,” Colombia’s President Ivan Duque said.

Duque inaugurated the meeting in a maloka — an indigenous hut — surrounded by members of the Tikuna tribe with headdresses of colored feathers, in the southern city of Leticia.

Brazililian President Jair Bolsonaro, widely criticized for policies that favor deforestation and for a delayed reaction to the wildfires, did not travel to Leticia, citing doctors’ orders.

However, speaking by video conference, he urged other leaders to resist calls, spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron, to internationalize protection of the Amazon.

“We must take a strong position of defense of sovereignty so that each country can develop the best policy for the Amazon region, and not leave it in the hands of other countries,” said Bolsonaro, who is due to undergo surgery Sunday.

Seated at a long wooden table in the shade of tall trees, the representatives of the seven nations signed the Leticia Pact for the Amazon that Duque said would provide greater protection for the rainforest, as existing treaties had “fallen short.”

The pact establishes a road map for safeguarding the rainforest “not only for the Amazon countries but also the nations of the region and the international community,” he said.

Colombia’s Environment Minister Ricardo Lozano said the new measures include the establishment of an “Amazonian cooperation network” to share information on deforestation, including weather data to mitigate the effects of climate change, and threats from illegal mining and logging.

“We needed to increase and strengthen the cooperation between us, precisely to meet the great challenges of the Amazon, which are becoming more extreme and more intense every day,” he told reporters in Leticia.

Aside from the host Duque, other presidents attending were Peru’s Martin Vizcarra, Ecuador’s Lenin Moreno and Evo Morales of Bolivia. Suriname’s vice president Michael Adhin and Guyana’s natural resources minister Raphael Trotman also attended.

Brazil was represented by Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo.

“We have to give concrete answers,” Vizcarra told the conference. “The dimension of the problem forces us to make drastic decisions.”

Deforestation in Brazil’s rainforest rose in August for the fourth straight month over levels from a year ago, according to preliminary government data released on Friday.

Brazil’s leading meat export industry group and other agribusiness associations on Friday joined with nongovernment organizations to call for an end to deforestation on public lands, demanding government action amid the fires.
“I haven’t seen any contracts being canceled in any sectors. Exp
orts continue, but the red light is flashing,” Marcello Brito, president of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association, told reporters at a briefing.

“If action isn’t taken, if the discourse doesn’t change, if the rhetoric doesn’t change, then things can get worse.”

Brazil contains 60 percent of the rainforest within its borders, with the rest spread over parts of Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, as well as the French overseas department of French Guyana.

Venezuela, despite having a large swath of the Amazon, was not invited to the summit because Colombia does not recognize the presidency of Nicolas Maduro.