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| Protect the Amazon rainforest - 'the green lungs of the Earth' to fight climate change. (Source: AFP) |
Faced with the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, on July 9, countries in the Amazon basin attended a summit in Colombia to develop a strategy to save the world's largest and most biodiverse rainforest.
Speaking at a conference in the city of Leticia, Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad stated that, based on scientific perspective, to preserve the Amazon forest, it is necessary to maintain 80% of the area of this "green lung" of the Earth and manage to not let the deforestation area exceed 20%. However, the rate of deforestation in the Amazon is currently up to 17%.
At the conference attended by representatives from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, Minister Susana warned that the loss of the Amazon forest to an irreversible level would have irreversible consequences for global climate change.
Also within the framework of this event, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro discussed regional cooperation to prevent deforestation and protect the Amazon forest.
President Lula da Silva stressed that the government is committed to "eradicating" illegal deforestation by 2030, saying this is a commitment that countries in the Amazon basin can make together at an upcoming summit in the Brazilian city of Belem.
The Amazon rainforest is considered the "green lungs of the Earth" because it absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2) that is warming the Earth and releases oxygen necessary for life. Therefore, the role of Amazonian countries in protecting the Amazon rainforest is vital to the fight against climate change.
The Leticia conference comes ahead of the Amazon Summit, which Brazil will host in Belem in August. The upcoming summit is an effort to push countries in the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization to work together to preserve the rainforest and promote sustainable development in a region threatened by illegal logging, deforestation, wildlife trafficking and drug trafficking.
In a positive development, the Brazilian government announced last week that under the administration of President Lula da Silva, deforestation in the Amazon in the first 6 months of this year had decreased by one-third compared to the same period last year.
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