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| Protecting the Amazon rainforest – the 'green lungs of the Earth' – is crucial in combating climate change. (Source: AFP) |
Faced with the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, on July 9th, countries in the Amazon River basin attended a summit in Colombia to devise a strategy to save the world's largest and most biodiverse rainforest.
Speaking at a conference in Leticia, Colombian Environment Minister Susana Muhamad stated that, from a scientific perspective, to preserve the Amazon rainforest, it is necessary to maintain 80% of the Earth's "green lungs" and prevent deforestation from exceeding 20%. However, the current rate of Amazon deforestation has reached 17%.
At the conference, attended by representatives from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, Minister Susana warned that the irreversible loss of the Amazon rainforest 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 rainforest.
President Lula da Silva emphasized that his government is committed to "eradicating" illegal deforestation by 2030, and suggested that this is a commitment that countries in the Amazon basin can collectively make at the upcoming summit in Belem, Brazil.
The Amazon rainforest is considered the "green lungs of the Earth" because it absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2), which is causing global warming, and releases oxygen, which is essential for life. Therefore, the role of protecting the Amazon rainforest by countries in the Amazon basin is vital to the fight against climate change.
The conference in Leticia takes place ahead of the Amazon Summit hosted by Brazil in Belem in August this year. The upcoming conference is an effort to encourage countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization to take action to conserve the rainforest and promote sustainable development in a region threatened by logging, illegal deforestation, and wildlife trafficking and drug trafficking.
In a positive development, the Brazilian government announced last week that under President Lula da Silva's administration, Amazon deforestation in the country during the first six months of this year has decreased by one-third compared to the same period last year.
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