During the opening of a meeting of the Amazon countries' presidents in the Colombian city of Leticia on Friday, Colombian President Ivan Duque called for a decisive action against deforestation in the region and promised to plant 180 million trees in areas affected by fires in his country by 2022
MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2019) During the opening of a meeting of the Amazon countries' presidents in the Colombian city of Leticia on Friday, Colombian President Ivan Duque called for a decisive action against deforestation in the region and promised to plant 180 million trees in areas affected by fires in his country by 2022.
The wildfires in the Amazonian region have been raging for several weeks and became the spotlight of the environmental agenda at the recent meeting of G7 leaders. Heads of the Amazon countries meet in Leticia on Friday to discuss joint environmental policies.
"Among the measures that Colombia plans to take as part of the common struggle of our countries against deforestation is the planting of 180 million trees by 2022," Duque said.
According to the president, new multilateral funding instruments are needed to effectively support sustainable development programs in the Amazon countries.
"I want to emphasize the urgent need to create multilateral financial instruments to support the actions of the region's countries. Existing structures, such as the Inter-American Development Bank, could develop such mechanisms that will allow us to implement sustainable development projects in the Amazon region," Duque said.
The environmental summit with the leaders of Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia and Suriname aims to create a platform for regional dialogue on the protection and responsible use of the natural resources of the Amazon.
As a result of the summit, a joint declaration of the participating countries is expected to be signed, which will include the Leticia Pact for the Amazon. The document will outline the future agenda for Amazon countries, the region as a whole and the international community.
