BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s government is hopeful that an upcoming regional summit in Brazil will represent a turning point in the deterioration of the Amazon, Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said on Thursday.
The eight countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), which include Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru, will meet Aug. 7-8 in the Brazilian city of Belem at the mouth of the Amazon River.
The summit – which follows a meeting in Colombia’s Amazon city of Leticia a month ago – is aimed at finding ways to prevent further degradation of the Amazon rainforest, the preservation of which scientists say is vital for curbing the effects of climate change.
“We hope that it will really be a turning point in the process of deterioration of the Amazon and in the need for an Amazonian multilateralism that has great influence on the global climate agenda,” Muhamad said at a press conference in Bogota.
The growing links between drug trafficking and illegal logging and other activities will be a focus of the summit, which was proposed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to tackle rampant deforestation.
Talks will also include the complicated issue of hydrocarbon exploration, Muhamad said.
While Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has voiced concern over oil and gas exploration in the Amazon, Muhamad said the situation was “much more complex” than other topics.
The topic will be one for heads of state to discuss, she said, given the wider repercussions involved on issues like energy security and national sovereignty.
“The important thing is that this discussion is being had,” Muhamad said.
(Reporting by Oliver Griffin, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
