Leaders from South America’s Amazon nations gathered in Colombia’s Bogota on Friday to finalise a unified strategy to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest — a region scientists say is key to stabilising the global climate, according to a report published by The Associated Press on Sunday.
Presidents from Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia, along with Ecuador’s Vice President Maria Jose Pinto and other top officials, signed the ‘Declaration of Bogota’ — a political roadmap aimed at strengthening regional cooperation on protecting the Amazon basin, which stretches across over 6.7 million square kilometers, the report said.
Stressing on the need for shared responsibility, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivered a powerful message, reportedly saying, “There is no individual exit from the climate crisis. We need a new global governance with the authority to make countries keep their promises.”
The leaders are calling for a united front against deforestation, climate change, and illegal exploitation of natural resources. The declaration follows up on the Belem Declaration — signed in 2023 in Brazil, which also committed Amazon nations to closer coordination on environmental policies.
