Heads of state receive demands listed during Amazon Dialogues
The proposals put together during Amazon Dialogues were compiled into six reports delivered to the heads of state attending the Amazon Summit, which began Tuesday (Aug. 8) in Belém, Pará state.
The documents were drafted at the event’s eight plenary sessions with representatives from social movements, academia, think tanks, and government agencies from Brazil and other Amazon countries.
Discussed in the debates were such topics as eradication of slave labor, health, food and nutrition sovereignty, science and technology, energy transition, climate change, the protection of human rights advocates, territories, indigenous people, and traditional communities.
There was also space for debate on cross-cutting themes surrounding youth, women, and black Amazon, in addition to 374 activities devised by social movements, nonprofits, and state-run and private institutions.
Some proposals were included in more than one report, like the demarcation of indigenous and quilombola territories and the preservation of at least 80 percent of the Amazon by 2025.
Allowing local communities to have a say in major decisions was also incorporated into more than one report, along with ways to foster economic sustainability and to address environmental contamination, especially when stemming from mining and oil extraction.
Encouraging education and research in the region and protecting local women and their work were also suggested.
The regulation of the carbon market was also listed in more than one report, plus funding for the welfare of indigenous and quilombola people.
Moreover, the documents call for public policies that prevent the Amazon forest from reaching the point of no return—after which the forest loses its ability to self-regenerate due to deforestation, degradation, and global warming.
The texts further request the implementation of Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization, which lays the definition of indigenous and traditional peoples as well as the duties of governments around the recognition and protection of social, cultural, religious, spiritual values, and practices of these groups.
Also written in more than one report is a warning about the possible approval of the time limit framework by the Supreme Court and the setbacks it may represent for indigenous populations.
