President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave a speech this Saturday (8) at the closing of the Technical-Scientific Meeting of the Amazon, in the Amazonian city of Letícia, Colombia. The event was organized by the government of Colombia, President Gustavo Petro. The city of Letícia borders Tabatinga, in the extreme west of the Amazon, in the triple border region between Colombia, Brazil and Peru. The bilateral meeting between the two regional leaders precedes the Amazon Summit, scheduled for August 8, in Belém, by a month. On the occasion, the capital of Pará will host the presidents of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. All these countries are members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), an international mechanism that should be strengthened from now on. Members of governments that are part of ACTO were also at the meeting in Leticia. In addition to these heads of state, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, was invited, representing French Guiana, the European country’s overseas territory in South America, which also holds portions of the Amazon rainforest. Presidents of other countries that have tropical forests, such as Congo and Indonesia, should also be invited. In a comprehensive statement, Lula highlighted that the technical-scientific meeting discussed fundamental themes such as the protection of indigenous peoples, the promotion of science, technology and innovation, the bioeconomy and the fight against transnational crimes. The Brazilian president listed a series of proposals and expectations regarding the strengthening of cooperation between Amazonian countries, including the creation of an Amazonian Cities Forum and an Amazonian Parliament. “It is necessary to value the role of mayors, governors and parliamentarians. Public policy cannot be made without the participation of those who know the territory. For this, we want to formalize the Forum of Amazonian Cities and the Amazonian Parliament”, said Lula. Two other measures in the area of science and monitoring were also announced. One of them is the creation of the Amazon Regional Observatory, which will systematize and monitor data from all countries to guide public policies, in addition to producing, in real time, bulletins and alerts about droughts, floods, rains, fires and water contamination. In addition, Lula proposed the creation of a committee of Amazon experts, inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations (UN), to, according to him, “generate knowledge and produce recommendations based on science”. “The formation of contact networks between universities and research institutions will contribute to stimulate the production of local knowledge, boost economies and create opportunities for our youth, so lacking in study and work alternatives. We can do a lot if we give ACTO clear guidelines and adequate resources. Through a coalition of development banks and the mobilization of public and private resources, we will promote sustainable local productive activities, such as family farming, artisanal fishing, agroforestry projects and entrepreneurship networks, especially female”, he defended Squid. Strengthening of ACTO At the meeting in Letícia, Lula and Petro heard pronouncements from local authorities, representatives of civil society organizations and indigenous leaders. And then, the Brazilian president again defended that the countries that own the forest need to strengthen the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, a process that should effectively start at the Amazon Summit, next month. “Today, ACTO is a tool that, instead of isolating us, has the capacity to project us towards the center of the most important challenge of today: climate change”, said Lula, noting that the regional mechanism brings together eight of the countries and covers a series of themes, such as protection of indigenous peoples, health policies, tourism, infrastructure and transport, and their correlation with the environment. “Throughout all these years, we have not given ACTO the attention it deserves. The Belém Summit will be a moment of course correction”, he added. Created 45 years ago, the organization is the only socio-environmental organization in the world based in Brazil. Lula even proposed that the countries in the region join together to unify the proposal to eliminate deforestation in the forest by 2030. “My government will eliminate illegal deforestation by 2030. This is a commitment that the Amazonian countries can assume together at the Belém Summit” . Through the Amazon Cooperation Treaty of July 1978, ACTO countries assumed a common commitment to the preservation of the environment and the rational use of natural resources in the Amazon. In addition to prioritizing the preservation of the environment, the treaty aims to promote the development of the Amazon territories, so that joint actions generate equitable and mutually beneficial results to achieve the sustainable development of the eight nations. During the speech, Lula also spoke about the need to fight hunger in the Amazon, which has high levels of food insecurity, guarantee access to health and face crimes, including the fight against biopiracy and border crimes. He cited the creation of the Center for International Police Cooperation in the Amazon in Manaus, and of an integrated Air Traffic Control System for the Amazonian countries to disrupt the routes used by organized crime. International governance At another point in his speech, Lula criticized the current spaces of global governance and claimed greater protagonism for countries with vast forest extensions. “Those who have the greatest forest reserves and the greatest biodiversity deserve greater representation. It is inexplicable that international financing mechanisms, such as the Global Environment Facility, which was born at the World Bank, reproduce the exclusionary logic of the Bretton Woods institutions. Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador are obliged to share a seat on the Fund’s board, while developed countries such as the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden each occupy their own seat. account,” he argued. The issue of the Amazon will be at the center of geopolitical attention for the next few years, culminating in the holding of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), in 2025, in the capital of Pará. For the first time, the main event of the United Nations (UN) on environmental issues will be held in the tropical forest biome. The president also suggested that at this year’s edition of the climate conference, COP28, in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, the countries that make up the South American Amazon take joint positions on environmental issues. Lula again said that the COP30, in Belém, in two years’ time, will be an opportunity for the world to get to know the true Amazon. And he spoke of the need to create policies for the huge population that lives in the region, especially in large urban areas. “Many people do not imagine, for example, that most of the Amazon population is urban. Of the 26 million people who live in the Brazilian Amazon, 12 million are in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. These people need adequate infrastructure, education and sustainable life alternatives, which can come from sources such as tourism or investments in science, technology and innovation. The tropical forest cannot be seen only as an ecological sanctuary. The world needs to be concerned with the right to live well for its inhabitants of the Amazon. After all, sustainable development has three inseparable dimensions: economic, social and environmental,” he added.
Agência Brasil
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