Amazônia: Marina wants agreement against point of no return – 05/16/2023 – Environment

The minister of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, proposed this Tuesday (16) an agreement to avoid reaching the “point of no return” of destruction of the Amazon.

Brazil should defend this pact in August, during a meeting of the countries that make up ACTO (Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization).

“If more than 20% of the Amazon is destroyed, we could enter the savannization process. It is possible to create a dignified life for the people who live in the Amazon and at the same time preserve these immense riches with a view to the protection and sustainable use of its biodiversity, tourism”, said the minister.

Marina stated that Brazil can invest in sustainable development projects in countries that share the forest, in addition to cooperating in monitoring deforestation in the region.

“We have the fund that can finance the expansion of the monitoring system, and the BNDES, which, in addition to investments in our country, we can also make in the region”, stated Marina Silva.

She participated in the Sustainable Development in the Amazon seminar, promoted by Itamaraty. The event precedes the meeting of presidents of the states that make up ACTO, scheduled for August 8 and 9, in Belém (PA).

Created from an international agreement signed in 1978, the entity brings together Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. The entity acted, for example, in the installation of the first vegetation cover monitoring stations in Bolivia and in the establishment of joint protocols on how to deal with isolated indigenous communities in border areas.

The minister proposed that ACTO be raised to “a new level”, to become a kind of framework convention. She said that this status reduces the chance of undoing the deals, even if “someone like Bolsonaro” takes over the region’s governments.

Marina said that, in addition to the investments already announced by the USA, Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom, other countries and entities indicate that they may invest in the Amazon Fund.

“We are working, in addition to Spain, the European Union, and other countries that are also signaling cooperation, with global philanthropy. Several institutions want to contribute”, said the minister.

At the same seminar, the executive coordinator of Apib (Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil), Kleber Karipuna, stated that the demarcated lands have potential for sustainable production and preservation of the forest.

“Land demarcation not only puts into effect the constitutional right guaranteed to indigenous peoples over their territory, but also adds potential value to the entire history, culture, and production of peoples. We have an old debate on sustainable development”, said Karipuna.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, stated that the meeting between ACTO presidents will be a “decisive step” to demonstrate the commitment to deepen cooperation between countries in the region.

“There is no longer any question of debating the future of the Amazon without the Amazonians, including indigenous and traditional peoples”, stated Vieira.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) brought the environmental agenda to the center of the debate during the elections and promised to prioritize it in his administration. The government, however, reached its 100th day in power at risk of potential conflicts between the sector and the areas of infrastructure and agribusiness, as shown by the Sheet.

_{The Planeta em Transe project is supported by the Open Society Foundations.}