Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia join forces for the Amazon with an eye on COP30

The presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia called, this Friday (22), for regional cooperation to protect the Amazon rainforest, its people and present a “common position” at the UN climate conference, COP30, during the summit of Amazonian countries in Bogotá.

The Amazon, the largest tropical forest on the planet, shared by nine countries, suffers from deforestation, drug trafficking, illegal mining, and the impact of hydrocarbons. The objective of the 5th Summit of Amazonian Countries, held this year in the Colombian capital, is to coordinate joint actions to address these challenges.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke about the creation of the Amazon International Police Cooperation Center to combat organized crime, which will be inaugurated on September 9 in Manaus, capital of Amazonas.

According to him, the institution will be “very important (…) to combat illegal mining, drug trafficking, arms smuggling and (…) anything else that disturbs us”.

“The Amazonian people deserve to live free from the violence (…) that drives indigenous people from their lands and riverside communities from their homes, that takes the lives of those who fight for the Amazon, like Chico Mendes, Dorothy Stang, Bruno Pereira, Dom Phillips and so many others,” he added.

Lula also highlighted the importance of COP30, which will be held in November in Belém do Pará, as a setting to highlight the needs of the Amazon before the international community.

"We want people to see the real situation of the forest, our rivers, and the people who live there, so they know that we have an almost Herculean task to address this climate issue," said the president.

"I don't want to make the COP a parade of speeches, a parade of pamphlets, a parade of ideas, and no conclusions. I want a conclusion to see if we can take a step forward and escape the monotony we're in," Lula added.

“Together we can make COP30 the COP of change,” he assured.

- Challenges -

Before foreign ministers and other diplomatic representatives, Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivered a speech critical of fossil fuels, in line with his energy transition policies.

“One of Colombia’s main enemies is drug trafficking (…), gold and certain illegally extracted mining,” added the Colombian president.

In turn, Bolivian President Luis Arce called for “regional interests” to take precedence over national ones.

The Amazon Cooperation Treaty (TCA), on which the summit is based, was signed by all Amazonian countries in 1978.

Petro, Lula and Arce exchanged hugs and displays of affection during the event in Bogotá.

The leaders ratified the Bogotá Declaration, a document created at the summit that establishes the coordination of national climate agendas, progress towards a "just energy transition," and the creation of an international fund for tropical forests.

The international Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty organization criticized the lack of a “concrete proposal to abandon fossil fuels.”

President Lula advocates oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River to finance Brazil's energy transition.

Indigenous and Afro-descendant people also participated in the summit in Bogotá and called for “real actions” beyond “speeches.”

In addition to the loss of the ecosystem they inhabit, indigenous peoples suffer from violence: in Colombia alone, 27 indigenous leaders have been murdered since the beginning of the year, according to the organization Indepaz.

The world's largest tropical forest, home to around 10% of the planet's biodiversity, has suffered in recent years from several episodes of fires and severe drought.

The summit's closing comes just one day after two guerrilla attacks in Colombia left around 20 dead. At the start of the event, a minute of silence was held for the victims in the country, which is currently experiencing the worst wave of violence in a decade.