August 9, 2023

09:08

Daleth Oliveira – Cenarium Amazon Magazine

BELÉM (PA) – At the opening of the Amazon Summit, in Belém (PA), on Tuesday, 8, the presidents of the eight countries that hold the Amazon rainforest received from representatives of civil society six documents prepared during the plenary sessions of the “Amazon Dialogues”, between the 4th and 6th, containing the social and environmental demands for the region.

On the occasion, in the document delivered by the head of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab), Toya Manchineri, who represented the indigenous peoples, the demarcation of all indigenous territories and the titling of quilombola territories claimed by 2025 were requested.

Belém Declaration

The federal government committed to use these documents as a fundamental basis for the creation of the Belém Declaration, which, according to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), will be a detailed and comprehensive action plan for the sustainable development of the Amazon.

“The Amazon is not and cannot be treated as a great storehouse of wealth. It is an incubator of knowledge and technologies that we have barely begun to scale. Here we can find solutions to countless problems of humanity, from curing diseases to more sustainable trade. The forest is not a void to be occupied, nor a treasure to be plundered. It is a bed of possibilities that needs to be cultivated”, the president said in his speech on Tuesday.

Proposals from civil society

Below is a summary of the main proposals presented by civil society to the presidents:

Protection of territories
Report 1: “Promotion and Safeguarding of Territories, Activists, Civil Society and Traditional Peoples in the Sustainable Construction of the Amazon and Eradication of Slave Labor in the Territories”.

Main Points:
Strategic recognition of social technologies in territories, especially, sustainable economy and traditional practices;
Urgent demarcation and protection of indigenous lands;
Development of collective processes for the defense of the Amazon;
Training of indigenous human rights defenders.
Health and Food Security
Report 2: “Health, Food and Nutritional Sovereignty in the Amazon: Emergency Measures and Structural Policies”.

Main Points:
Implementation of a responsible food production and distribution policy, considering cultural, ethnic and gender diversity;
Progress in land regularization to guarantee the rights of the territories of indigenous, quilombola, traditional populations and family farmers;
Formulation of public policies that strengthen existing production and supply for communities with difficulties in accessing food;
Combating environmental racism and strengthening women’s production and organization, promoting access to land and defense of the territory.

Preservation
Report 3: “Vision for the Future of the Amazon: Science, Technology, Innovation, Research and Energy Transition”.

Main points:
Improvement of integrated soil management, considering water as a vital factor for life and production;
Mobilization of resources for the production of science, knowledge and technology from the Amazon, in dialogue with local peoples;
Commitment of ACTO member countries to preserve at least 80% of the Amazon by 2025;
Elimination of illegal mining and use of mercury by 2027;
Ban on gold mining in the Amazon;
Closing illegal markets for mercury, gold and other products.

Climate Change and Agroecology

Report 4: “Climate Change Adaptation, Agroecology and Sustainable Economies in the Amazon: Responsible Management and New Production Models for Regional Development”.

Main Points:
Declaration of climate emergency in the Pan-Amazon and development of a Regional Strategic Plan for Emergency Action;
Urgent actions to preserve and balance the forest, avoiding a point of no return and securing at least 80% of the biome by 2025;
Creation of a plan to eliminate illegal deforestation, degradation and contamination by 2025, and a similar plan for legal deforestation by 2027;
Restoration of degraded forests through agroforestry systems, with emphasis on Amazonian species;
Investment in forest restoration (biocultural) considering local social actors;
Promotion of integration and synergy between existing conservation units;
Establishment of cooperation agreements and cross-border actions to combat predatory practices that contribute to fires, deforestation and contamination.

Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon

Report 5: “Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon: A New Inclusive Project for the Region”.

Main Points:
Rejection of the temporal framework thesis and implementation of legal safeguards against similar proposals;
Intercultural and quality health and education policies;
Revision of legislation to cater for indigenous people in urban contexts, covering specific education, culture and health;
Valorization and strengthening of indigenous languages, with co-officialization;
Creation of indigenous universities and inclusion of indigenous science and history in universities;
Demarcation of all indigenous territories and titling of quilombola territories by 2025.

Environmental Racism

Report 6: “Black Amazons: Environmental Racism, Traditional Peoples and Communities”.

Main Points:
Promotion of a productive economy to combat inequalities among Afro populations in the Amazon region;
Joint confrontation of environmental racism and promotion of rights;
Confronting environmental racism as a central theme at the Amazon Summit and COP30;
Creation of a Black Amazon Monitoring Committee, including debate on incarceration and anti-racist actions in educational institutions;
Expansion of racial equality policies;
Titling of quilombola communities.