Summit highlights the protagonist of the Amazonians in fighting the climate emergency

From August 8th to the 9th, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA in spanish) will hold in Belém, Pará the Summit for the Amazon – The 4th Meeting for the Presidents of the States. The meeting will gather the heads of States of the countries members to the organization (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guiana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela) to design cooperation strategies and sustainability and climate change mitigation means.

Throughout the whole month of August, there will also be held other activities and articulations which precede the 30th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-30), which will take place in Brazil, in 2025. Among the events scheduled in August there are also the Amazon Dialogues (from August the 4th to the 6th), the People of the Earth’s Assembly and March for the Amazon (August the 7th, the 8th and the 9th), the Seminar “The Challenges within a Popular Energetic Transition in the Amazon” (August the 6th) and also the Panamazonian Plenary of the Via Campesina (August the 7th).

“The Summit is the activity of the States. Therefore, we will make an incidence effort and build the People of the Land’s Assembly for the Amazon, being the people and the social movements the main characters, a seminar to discuss with partners the energetic transition we want and the Panamazonian Plenary of the Via Campesina”, explains Francisco Kelvim, member of the national coordination of MAB.

For that reason, MAB will have an active participation in the summit. “In view of the Amazon rainforest role to climate regulation and its ecological services, the summit gains as much importance as the COPs have. It is expected that the Summit for the Amazon results in concrete compromises and effective actions to preserve the biome”, concludes Kelvim.

MAB is currently mobilizing people affected by dams in seven states that compose the Amazon region, besides other partners and activists from foreign organizations from other countries that compose the Panamazon region to participate in the summit. That is the case for Larissa de Santos Farias, an activist affected by the Tucuruí dam, in Cametá city, located in the northeast region of the state of Pará.

“I will participate in the Summit for the Amazon in August because the presence of those affected by dams in such events about the Amazon region and environment and environmental preservation is very important. And so is debate and design other agendas so that there may be more dialogue and more explanations about climate changes, the impact of great projects such as the waterway Araguaia-Tocantins, which will directly affect the county” warns Larissa.

Preparations to the Summit of the People

The Amazon Dialogues is a program which precedes the summit and will take place from August the 4th to the 6th, in Hangar (Belém), and its goal is to evoke civil society to participate in the plenaries and in spaces which the goal is to build propositions to the heads of the States.

The summit of the heads of the States of the OTCA has as its goal to strengthen cooperation between the amazonian countries, promoting joint actions towards forest preservation and sustainable development for the region. Throughout the meeting, themes such indigenous land protection, means to prevent deforestation, aid for sustainable economic activities and biodiversity preservation will be discussed. 

Besides that, the summit will also approach matters related to environmental governance, scientific cooperation, sustainable tourism, infrastructure and energy in the Amazon region. ACTO, created in 1995, has as its goal to promote regional cooperation and integration for the countries part of the Panamazon. The organization seeks to conciliate economic development and environmental preservation, recognizing the importance of the Amazon region to local people’s welfare and global balance.

One of the highlights of the summit will be the active participation of Brazil, which composes the largest part of the Amazon region. The Brazilian government will have the opportunity to showcase its forest preservation and sustainable development policies and actions for the region. Besides that, it is also expected for international partnerships and the destination of financial resources for the implementation of preservation and sustainable development in Amazon to be discussed.

The Summit for the Amazon will also feature the participation of non-governmental organizations, social movements and specialists in the environmental field. It will be a platform for dialogue and experience exchange, aiming to build joint solutions and the strengthening of the forest preservation and protection of local communities’ welfare actions.