Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will host the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation ( ACTO) summit with planetary stakes, as leaders of the countries that share the Amazon seek a roadmap to save the world’s biggest rainforest.
Key points
- The meeting of the eight-nation Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation will be held in Belém, capital of the Amazon state of Para.
- It is the 28-year-old organisation’s first summit since 2009.
- The Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) signed on July 3, 1978 gave rise to the ACTO, that is oriented to promote the harmonious development of the Amazonian territories.
- The members of the group are; Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
- With its hundreds of billions of carbon-absorbing trees, the Amazon is a key buffer against global warming. But scientists warn deforestation is pushing it dangerously close to a “tipping point,” beyond which trees would die of, with catastrophic consequences for the climate.
- Already, carbon emissions from the Amazon increased by 117% in 2020 compared to the annual average for 2010 to 2018.
About Amazon River Basin
- The Amazon River Basin is home to the largest rainforest on Earth.
- The basin covers some 40 percent of the South American continent and includes parts of eight South American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname, as well as French Guiana, a department of France.
- The basin is drained by the Amazon River, the world’s largest river in terms of discharge, and the second longest river in the world after the Nile.
