Belém’s Fourth Amazon Summit 2023: Results

Representatives of the countries that share territory of the Amazon rainforest met at the Fourth Amazon Summit 2023, in order to work together to conserve the world’s largest land-based natural lung. As a result of this meeting, convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, several agreements have been made to curb deforestation, driven by industrial agriculture, mining practices, and land grabbing.

The Belém Declaration—named after the Brazilian city where the summit was held—was signed this Tuesday, August 8, by the members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), made up of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Perú, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Fourth Amazon Summit: Venezuela Proposes Joint Task Force for Amazon Rainforest Recovery

The following are the key declared agreements:

• Join efforts to advance a common agenda for cooperation in the Amazon, to be implemented under the principles of sustainable development of biodiversity, forests, and water bodies.
• Combat deforestation and illegal activities in the region.
• Promote economic development focused on social inclusion, especially taking into account indigenous, local, and traditional communities.
• Strengthen ACTO and expand its coordination, cooperation, and means of implementation.
• Strengthen regional development cooperation through the establishment of a Working Group on South-South Cooperation, within ACTO, to better coordinate, articulate, and streamline development cooperation and the activities of the bodies responsible for cooperation of the member countries, in favor of the Amazon, especially in the border regions.
• Encourage the recovery, expansion, and consolidation of scientific and technological research infrastructure in the Amazon basin.

 

(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/AU