Bogotá Declaration advances coordination but falls short of targets
Heads of State and representatives of member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) released the Bogotá Declaration on Saturday (Aug. 23). The document had been approved the previous day in the Colombian capital during the fifth meeting of regional leaders, which was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The event served as a platform to update the commitments of the countries that share the largest tropical forest on the planet, aiming to protect the biome. It was also an opportunity to engage neighboring nations in the effort to participate in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held in Belém, in the Brazilian state of Pará, in November - the first COP to take place in the Amazon.
“The outcome of the Bogotá Summit was positive. The declaration consolidates the cycle initiated in Belém, reaffirms the Belém Declaration (2023) as the framework for Amazonian regional cooperation, and sets clear directions for immediate action on climate, forests, biodiversity and restoration, bioeconomy, the protection of indigenous peoples, environmental security, and institutional strengthening - with a direct impact on regional cooperation,” the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change told Agência Brasil.
Among the points in the declaration, Amazonian countries emphasized the urgency of coordinated action against deforestation and biodiversity loss, in line with the Paris Agreement, to prevent the so-called “point of no return” for the forest - a threshold beyond which it may no longer regenerate, triggering irreversible collapse. This shift could turn the Amazon into a drier, less dense biome, weakening its ability to absorb carbon and regulate the global climate.
The absence of clearer targets on this issue frustrated members of civil society who participated in the summit in Bogotá.
“In 2023, our fight was to prevent the Amazon from reaching the point of no return. Here in Bogotá, what we heard from experts, indigenous leaders, riverside communities, and forest peoples is that the Amazon has already reached that point - meaning the risk is absolute and the challenges even greater. Data on fires in the Amazon in 2024, particularly in Bolivia and Brazil, corroborate what people are witnessing on the ground. In this context, it is concerning that, once again, we lack firm, concrete targets to combat deforestation and the loss of our forest,” notes João Pedro Galvão Ramalho, coordinator of the Pororoka collective and member of the International Committee of the Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA).
According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the issue of the point of no return has not yet been addressed in concrete terms. The ministry stated that the governments of the region will establish a specialized scientific group to work on the matter.
“The literature has not yet reached a consensus on exactly what the Amazon’s point of no return is. There are important references, such as the work of Professor Carlos Nobre. The decision to establish the Intergovernmental Scientific and Technical Panel on the Amazon, under the framework of ACTO and included in the declaration signed by the presidents at the Belém Summit in 2023, should help advance this understanding,” the ministry’s statement reads.
Fossil fuels
The same concern about the lack of deforestation targets, according to Ramalho, also applies to the issue of energy transition and fossil fuel exploration, which divided the countries of the region in the Bogotá Declaration. “The topic is mentioned only in the declaration’s preamble, which recognizes the need to ‘advance towards a just, orderly, and equitable energy transition.’ We know that the Colombian government has focused its efforts on including a commitment in the declaration to transition away from an economy based on fossil fuel extraction, such as oil and gas exploration. The Brazilian government, however, maintained its official position - reflected in the preamble. Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela were the ones who opposed this proposal,” the coordinator added.
For the climate activist, fossil fuel exploration in the Amazon poses a serious threat to the biome.
“Almost a fifth of new oil discoveries worldwide between 2022 and 2024 occurred in the Amazon, with most overlapping territories of indigenous and traditional peoples and communities, or conservation areas. The fact that the Amazon is becoming the new frontier for fossil fuel exploration poses a great danger and threatens this sensitive and megadiverse region, which, if properly cared for, plays a fundamental role in confronting the climate crisis,” Ramalho stated.
Coordination mechanisms
The expansion of social participation under the Amazon Cooperation Treaty has been widely praised by civil society organizations. “President Lula emphasized in his speech the importance of creating Social ACTO, a mechanism proposed by civil society to be permanently and officially integrated into ACTO. This was one of the greatest achievements here in Bogotá. The same applies to the implementation of the Amazon Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples, which is specifically designed to ensure participation for indigenous communities. These mechanisms, if fully implemented, will enable the peoples of the Amazon to continue playing the fundamental role they have in regional politics,” assesses João Pedro Ramalho.
Other advances in regional coordination, according to the Ministry of the Environment, include cooperation in policing, judicial and intelligence efforts; gold traceability; and the fight against illegal mining and wildlife trafficking.
Other notable points
The Bogotá Declaration also reaffirmed the differentiated protection of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (PIACI), based on the principles of non-contact and intangibility, and committed to strengthening the safeguarding of ancestral knowledge and the intangible cultural heritage of the Amazon, recognizing their vital contribution to sustainability.
The bloc also expressed its support, through a joint statement, for the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) during COP30 in Belém. This fund could directly benefit approximately 70 countries by helping them maintain the protection of their forest reserves.
