Brazil this week hosted a regional summit for the nine countries that share the Amazon basin. The one-day event in Manaus on 26 November was attended by delegates from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Surinam, while French Guiana was represented by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

The purpose was to discuss climate change and means of tackling deforestation in the Amazon region, home to around 30 million people, with a view to establishing a common position ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

The delegates agreed that developed countries must provide financial help to help combat deforestation. In the case of Brazil, President Lula said he was committed to environmental issues but that no resident of the Amazon region should endure hunger for the sake of preservation.

With regard to Brazil’s own ‘Amazon Fund’, Norway has taken the lead among rich countries by pledging US$1bn by 2015 if Brazil continues to reduce rates of deforestation. The most recent annual deforestation figures in Brazil, for August 2008 to July 2009, were the lowest in more than 20 years.

Source: Embassy of Brazil in London