The presidents of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, met on July 8 in the Colombian city of Leticia to discuss actions to reverse environmental deterioration in the Amazon rainforest. The bilateral meeting took place within the framework of a series of meetings and events that have taken place in Leticia since July 3. The Leticia Summit, as it has been called, has had the participation of indigenous organizations and environmental entities.
First modification:
The Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, met this Saturday with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvain the Colombian city of Leticia, at South of that country. There, they discussed the regional coordination of countries with Amazonian territory to preserve the largest tropical forest in the world. It was a preview of what will be the meeting of the member countries of the Organization of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (OTCA) next month in Brazil. The bilateral meeting took place within the framework of a series of meetings and events that have taken place in Leticia since July 3. The Leticia Summit, as it has been called, It has had the participation of indigenous organizations and environmental entities.
Brazil and Colombia have a lot in common. We are two great multicultural democracies, marked by the valuable contribution of indigenous and Afro-descendants. And we also share the commitment to bring Amazonia to the center of our politics. And that’s when we started to… pic.twitter.com/D6qXkGRAHJ
– Lula (@LulaOficial) July 8, 2023
The protection of biodiversity, the fight against deforestation and the protection of the Amazon against illegal mining These were some of the topics discussed by the top leaders of Brazil and Colombia. Both leaders have asked the richest countries to contribute funds to the preservation of the Amazonian territories, who consider that this great jungle is key to mitigating climate change throughout the world. Petro reported to Lula da Silva about the need for change in Amazon conservation and emphasized the “compelling need” to give humanity a revitalized junglewhich, he said, implies changes in the development process.
In this regard, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, assured that “talking about the Amazon is talking about superlatives: it is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, home to 10% of all species of animals and plants on the planet; It has 50 million inhabitants with 400 indigenous peoples who speak 300 languages, it has the largest freshwater reserves on the planet, including a true underground ocean.” The Colombian president recalled that, for a long time, it was believed that “progress was the destruction of the tree” for the sake of industrial production. However, “reason today tells us, through science, that the entire world economic system must be transformed: that is the challenge.” In addition, Petro invited his Brazilian counterpart to reflect on the advisability of allowing oil and coal exploration in the Amazon. “The challenge of protecting life goes through very difficult discussions, for example, are we going to let hydrocarbons be explored in the Amazon Jungle?”
The expected Amazon Summit will take place in Belém, Brazil, on August 8 and 9. This meeting is expected to be attended by the member countries of the Amazon arc, who intend to delve into the principles of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA). This body was created in 1995 under the parameters of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (1978). The last meeting of this summit was in 2009, and since then there has been no activity by the entity and therefore no joint actions by the eight member countries.
“This time that we have to live is and is marked from the fact that life cannot be defended without change, without transformation. Change is imposed and it is not predetermined, we have to build it together”: President @petrogustavo on the Road to the Amazon Summit. pic.twitter.com/VVYQqn5hdW
– Colombian Presidency ?? (@infopresidencia) July 8, 2023
In the meeting this Saturday it was also said that ACTO’s purposes must be materialized in practice. Part of this is to institutionalize the Amazon Regional Observatory, whose purpose will be to systematize and monitor data from all the territories that make up the largest lung in the world.
In Colombia, deforestation has stopped 76% during the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period last year, according to the president of this country, Gustavo Petro. Lula was also optimistic and shared that in Brazil deforestation in the Amazon had a reduction of 33.6% in the first quarter of 2023.
