Indigenous peoples join presidents of Amazon nations in pledge to protect the rainforest. The following article was published in the September-October 2023 issue of NewsNotes.
Thousands of people marched through the streets of the city Belém, in northern Brazil, chanting “Nothing is decided in the Amazon without Amazonians” during meetings about the rainforest Aug. 8 and 9 by the eight presidents of Amazon basin nations.
The presidents’ final joint statement, called the Belém Declaration, pledges to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples while also agreeing to a list of environmental policies to bolster regional cooperation.
Even though the presidents acknowledged that the Amazon is approaching a “tipping point,” they failed to agree on a common goal for ending deforestation and halting expansion of oil and gas production.
The World Assembly of the Amazon, a collective of peoples movements from the pan-Amazon countries that includes the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), presented their list of proposals to the presidents on the first day of meetings. Immediately following the Summit, the Assembly issued a statement that said:
“We have built a strong consensus over the past few months, which has succeeded in opening the Summit of Presidents of the Amazon to the participation of civil society. We convened the Amazon Dialogues, which were attended by almost 30,000 people, from Amazon organizations and popular movements. We recognize the efforts of the Brazilian government to facilitate these participatory spaces. Around 5,000 people marched through the streets of Belém chanting that nothing is decided in the Amazon without the Amazonians.
“We were able to get the voice of six representatives of the Amazon Dialogues plenary sessions to the presidents gathered at the Summit. Other representatives of the Peoples’ March were received by Brazilian government ministers and the Executive Secretary of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), presenting the Declaration of the Peoples of the Earth for the Amazon with our demands, which—with the radical urgency of this time—reflect the struggles and causes of all of us.
“We collectively evaluated the August 8th Presidential Declaration, the result of the Summit of the Presidents of the Amazon. It is important that the Presidents have relaunched the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). We welcome the decision to welcome the fruits of the Amazon Dialogues, although we point out that there are important shortcomings in some of the reports.
“The Presidential Declaration recognizes that effective solutions for the Amazon will only come from the full and effective participation of its people, especially indigenous peoples and women. We have succeeded in having our proposal for a Social ACTO heard and we hope to make progress in making it a reality. The Presidential Declaration failed to emphasize the need for the participation of other Amazonian segments, such as peoples of African descent, peasant communities and others. The agreement reached represents an important step in the construction of a sustainable, inclusive and solidary Amazon.
“The urgency that the document itself nominally recognizes at the beginning has not led to concrete and solid decisions on the most serious emergencies to be faced! There is no common goal for combating deforestation (only national commitments remain), there are no deadlines for solid actions in the face of the climate crisis. On oil and mining, there is only talk of “starting a dialogue on their sustainability”, far below the complaints and demands made by the peoples. Land conflicts, the criminalization and killing of leaders who defend their territories and the urgency of a popular agrarian reform are not taken into account.
“That is why we, the peoples of the Earth for the Amazon, popular movements and organizations, groups inspired by faith and strengthened by the spirituality of resistance, are not giving up and are continuing to put pressure on governments: there is no more time to lose!
“We call for a unity of initiatives that, from Belém to Belém, will take us to COP30, so that it can be the COP of an effective socio-environmental turnaround. Let’s change the history of the Amazon and the climate! Now or never again will we be given this opportunity....
“We already have a platform for meeting and consensus, and some decisive steps on this itinerary: the referendum for the Yes to Yasuní in Ecuador, next 20 August; the launch of the COP30 process in Brazil in parallel to COP28 in Dubai; the XI Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA) in Bolivia, in 2024.
“We open this call to all people, peoples and movements passionate about life and willing to dive in, with all their strength, knowledge and skills, together with Mother Earth, for the present and the future.
“The Amazon calls the world to change: it is possible, now, or never again!”
Photo by Filippo Cesarini on Unsplash