

It was a dream come true for a beaming Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he posed for the cameras on Wednesday, August 9, surrounded by Latin American, African and European representatives. Against the backdrop of a large wall covered in tropical vegetation, they stood hand in hand around the Brazilian president. It’s a triumphant shot, the kind Lula – a proven expert in the art of communication – loves so much.
Lula had good reason to be satisfied: The 77-year-old left-wing leader pulled off an impressive tour de force by organizing a major "Amazon summit" in Belem on August 8 and 9. Initially planned as a meeting of the very discreet and sleepy Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), the meeting soon became a general mobilization for the preservation of the forests and the environment.
The presidents of the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and an Indonesian representative were present in Belem, on top of the eight ACTO members (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela). The Amazon Fund’s main financial backers – Norway and Germany – were also present, as was Sultan Al-Jaber, the Dubai COP28 president.
Emmanuel Macron was without a doubt the most conspicuous absentee. Despite a public pledge by the French president to defend the Amazon from Jair Bolsonaro in 2019, he didn’t attend the event, despite repeated invitations from Brasilia and the strategic location of French Guiana, which has 90% of its territory covered by tropical forests. Brigitte Collet, France's sole ambassador to Brazil, was the country's only representative at the summit, despite Paris frequently presenting itself as an "Amazonian state."
Either way, Lula didn't bother to conceal his eagerness. At the opening of proceedings he enthused that, "It’s a source of great joy to meet the presidents of South American countries to discuss the Amazon," noting that, curiously, ACTO hadn’t met for 14 years. In a solemn tone, the president said “the history of the defense of the Amazon and the forest, the ecological transition, will have two moments: before and after this meeting."
After a laborious process, the "Belem Declaration" was produced, a lengthy 113-point document calling for "urgent action to avoid the point of no return in the Amazon," i.e. the destruction of more than a fifth of the forest, which would decisively compromise its capacity as a CO₂ reservoir. Getting into the detail, the declaration establishes the "Amazon Alliance to Combat Deforestation," as well as an international police cooperation center in Manaus, and envisages an integrated regional air traffic control system to combat drug trafficking and illegal gold panning.
You have 63.15% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.