THE eight nations that border the Amazon have called on the world’s industrialised countries to do more to help preserve the largest rainforest on Earth.

The South American nations were meeting at a major two-day summit in the Brazilian city of Belem to chart a common course on how to combat the climate emergency.

They said the task of stopping the destruction of the rainforest could not fall to just a few countries when the crisis has been caused by so many.

The members of the Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organisation are hoping that presenting a united front will give them a major voice in ongoing global climate talks.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva said: “The forest unites us. It is time to look at the heart of our continent and consolidate, once and for all, our Amazon identity.”

The calls from the presidents of nations including Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia came as leaders aim to fuel much-needed economic development in their regions while preventing the Amazon’s ongoing demise “from reaching a point of no return,” according to a joint declaration issued at the end of the day. 

Some scientists say that when 20 to 25 per cent of the rainforest has been destroyed, rainfall will dramatically decline, transforming more than half of it into tropical savannah with a huge loss of biodiversity.

Bolivian President Luis Arce said that the Amazon has been the victim of capitalism, reflected in runaway expansion of agricultural borders and natural resource exploitation. 

His Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro argued that affluent nations should swap foreign debt owed by Amazon countries for climate action, arguing that such an arrangement would create enough investment to power the Amazon region’s economy.

The summit has provided encouraging signs of increased regional co-operation amid growing global recognition of the Amazon’s importance in tackling the climate emergency.