Belem Declaration: Amazon countries fail to agree on protection goals

Subject: Environment

Section: International Conventions

Context:

Leaders from the eight countries across the Amazon, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, failed to agree on the goal to protect the rainforest at the ongoing Amazon Summit organised by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).

Details:

A clear joint goal, such as the protection of 80 per cent of the forest to avoid the tipping point, is absent in the declaration and leaders couldn’t even agree on zero deforestation.
Scientists have warned that if the combined deforestation and degradation of the Amazon crosses a 20-25 per cent threshold, the forest could reach an irreversible tipping point that may result in the dieback of the entire ecosystem.
Under the Global Biodiversity Framework, member countries had agreed to protect at least 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030.

Belem Declaration:

The Belem Declaration released during the Amazon Summit recognises Indigenous knowledge as a condition for biodiversity conservation and calls for ensuring full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision-making and public policy formulation processes.
Indigenous People are under constant threats and land rights will not only give them better protection, it will also prevent deforestation and protect the rich biodiversity within these territories.

Amazon fund:

The Amazon Fund’s goal is to encourage Brazil and other tropical developing nations with forests to continue and expand voluntary reductions of greenhouse gas emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation.
It serves as a REDD+ mechanism and oversees the Fund in addition to raising funds for investments in initiatives to stop, monitor, and fight deforestation as well as to advance the protection and sustainable use of forests in the Amazon Biome.
The Amazon Fund’s primary focus areas are as follows:
- Indigenous lands
- Conservation units
- Rural Environmental Registry – CAR
- Settlement
- Combating illegal fires and burn-offs
The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), which is in charge of contracting and overseeing the projects as well as publicising activities, results, and impacts, manages the Amazon Fund.
Government agencies (such as the Brazilian Forestry Service), NGOs, community groups, international organisations, and universities are examples of implementing institutions.
Project monitoring is based on BNDES processes, with mechanisms designed to ensure that grant recipients spend their money on the activities specified.
The organization is required to submit an Effectiveness Assessment Report two years after the project has been implemented.

Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO):

Established: 25 February 1995
Headquarters:Brasília, Brazil
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an international organization aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin.
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) was signed on 3 July 1978 and amended in 1998.
Group members — Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.