South America
Lula conjures up “Amazonian dream” of environmental protection
At the Amazon Summit, representatives of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela will meet. photo
© Filipe Bispo/dpa
The Amazon region plays a key role in the fight against climate change. After decades of overexploitation of nature, the neighboring countries now want to work more closely together. But the devil is in the details.
In view of the worsening climate crisis, the countries bordering the Amazon want to South America to work more closely together on environmental protection in the future. For the first time in 14 years, the heads of state and government of the Amazon countries met again for a summit in Brazil on Tuesday.
“It has never been more urgent than now to resume and expand this cooperation,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the start of the Organization of Cooperation in the Amazon (OTCA) conference in Belém.
In addition to the host, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, Bolivian President Luis Arce and Guyana’s Prime Minister Mark Phillips also came to the Amazon metropolis.
The goal of the meeting is to reconcile environmental protection with sustainable economic development and job creation, Lula said. “An Amazon with greener cities, cleaner air, mercury-free rivers and healthy forests. An Amazon with food on the table, decent work and public services available to all. An Amazon with healthier children, welcome migrants, respected indigenous peoples and more hopeful young people. This is our Amazonian dream.”
Oil production in the Amazon is controversial
However, Lula’s vision of the region’s economic development also harbors potential for conflict. Oil production in the Amazon region and in the vicinity of the Amazon estuary is particularly controversial. While the Brazilian President is open to oil production in the region, Colombian President Petro is in favor of curbing the exploitation of fossil fuels.
At the Amazon summit, the representatives of Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela also wanted to agree on a common position for the UN climate conference COP28 in Dubai at the end of the year. The world climate conference COP30 will then take place in Belém in 2025.
The Amazon rainforest is considered a CO2 store and has an important function in the international fight against climate change. Before the start of the summit, representatives of the indigenous communities called for better protection of their land rights and greater participation. “The Amazon is home to millions of people, including indigenous peoples, riverside dwellers and traditional communities,” Lula said. “Our government is committed to protecting the environment and is working with other countries to combat illegal mining, drug trafficking and mercury pollution of our waters.”
Tougher action against deforestation
After deforestation and fire clearing increased sharply during the term of office of right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), Head of State Lula announced when he took office at the beginning of the year that he would strengthen environmental and climate protection again. In recent times, the police have launched large-scale operations against loggers, farmers and illegal prospectors. In Belém, Lula reiterated his pledge to completely stop deforestation in Brazil by 2030.
Recently, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon region has already decreased significantly. According to preliminary data, deforestation fell by 66 percent in July compared to the same month last year. Between August 2022 and July 2023, an area of 7,952 square kilometers was deforested in the Brazilian Amazon. That was the lowest value in four years.