Photo credit: www.conservation.org
Editor’s Note: Climate Week is taking place from September 23 to September 29. Check Conservation News for ongoing coverage of this global forum.
A significant advancement in the defense of the Amazon rainforest has emerged with a new financial pledge.
At a UN Climate Action Summit event in New York this Monday, France announced a commitment of US$ 100 million to support a South American-led initiative, complemented by an additional US$ 20 million from Conservation International. The announcement, made by actor Harrison Ford, who is also a board member of Conservation International, drew attention to the urgent need for funding in conservation efforts.
This funding initiative is directed towards the Leticia Pact, which was established earlier this month during a summit attended by seven of the nine countries that share the Amazon rainforest. This agreement seeks to combat issues such as deforestation, wildfires, and to promote sustainable economic development in the region.
The summit, held on September 6 in Leticia, Colombia, and organized by Colombian President Ivan Duque, marks a notable collective response to protect the Amazon, especially in light of a troubling rise in deforestation rates and recent rampant forest fires.
The Leticia Pact outlines 16 collaborative efforts among the countries involved, including strategies for reforestation, measures against illegal mining, and the establishment of a network for natural disaster response.
Ford emphasized the importance of the funding during his address, stating, “With the Leticia Pact, a framework for recognizing and protecting this valuable forest and its peoples … there is a way forward.” He stressed that for the initiative to succeed, it requires robust funding, strong enforcement, and legal legitimacy.
The actor specifically highlighted the need for the funds to reach grassroots levels: “This money must go directly to indigenous peoples and civil society,” he declared, receiving enthusiastic support from the audience. “The people on the front lines, the people on the ground, the people with their feet in the mud.”
Experts warn that ongoing deforestation in the Amazon is pushing the ecosystem towards a tipping point that could transform the verdant rainforest into arid savanna, a change that would be harmful and irreversible. Such degradation threatens the forest’s ability to sustain its own rainfall, which is vital for maintaining the rainforest ecosystem and, consequently, has dire implications for the global climate.
Ford succinctly stated, “Without the Amazon, without the largest standing tropical forest in the world, we cannot achieve a climate solution.”
In closing, Ford reminded those present of the larger demographic at stake: “There is a new force of nature at hand, stirring all over the world. They are the young people whom, frankly, we have failed. Who are angry. Who are organized. Who are capable of making a difference.” He concluded with a call to action, urging, “The most important thing we can do for them is to get the hell out of their way.”
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