Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman on Friday affirmed Guyana’s readiness to work with sister states to protect the Amazon rainforest as the country signed a pact with six fellow Amazonian states to coordinate disaster response and satellite monitoring.
The signing took place at a one-day summit held in Leticia, in southern Colombia, against the backdrop of recent fires in parts of the Amazon.
“…Our presence here is in recognition of the value and importance of the Amazon, and the Guiana Shield, and our role as custodians, stewards and guardians of it. History will judge us harshly if we fail to recognise and accept our roles and responsibilities, and fail to act decisively,” Trotman said in a speech delivered at the summit.
“My country’s presence here today is a result of our nation’s deepest concerns for the health and safety of our Brazilian brothers and sisters, in particular, and for the preservation of the Amazon rainforest that links all of our states,” he added.
Trotman noted that the meeting was taking in place in sobering times given that the forest resources are on fire as are others across the world. “The tropical forests of the world are under threat from multiple realities. And we are gathered to acknowledge this and to find a way forward. The loss of biodiversity, forests, and the home of our indigenous peoples to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude, are all a clarion call to action,” he noted.
Trotman also said that the seven countries have common but differentiated responsibilities, which he said is the true essence of why they were gathered. “Our common responsibility amplified over the more than two decades of international, regional and national agreements, not least the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, demands of us all a joint solution to our shared resource, whilst at the same time, recognising our sovereign rights as stated,” he noted.
Trotman said Guyana wished to offer its full support to Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia, which are currently on the frontline of a new environmental reality. “Even now, we are gathering resources at home to send to our sister Caribbean state the Bahamas that has been laid bare by the brutal forces of Hurricane Dorian. The loss of life, the loss of their built heritage, the loss of their biodiversity through the vicious winds and water are a scaled model of what has, and is occurring, is the Amazon,” he observed.
“Our countries’ vulnerabilities will require our collective strengths and contributions to develop mitigation measures that will build our resilience to the negative impacts of climate change. It is Guyana’s sincere wish that at today’s end we would have achieved this objective, and can demonstrate to the world that we of the Amazon region are committed to the protection and preservation of our forests,” he added, while noting that Guyana stands ready to work and to fight with brother and sister states in order to preserve and protect the Amazon rainforest.
A statement from the Guyana government said Trotman, who represented President David Granger, signed on behalf of Guyana, while Colombia’s President Ivan Duque, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno and Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra were the heads of state who signed, and Suriname’s Vice President Michael Ashwin Adhin and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo signed the pact on behalf of their respective countries.
The statement noted that Guyana’s ambassador to Brazil George Talbot joined Trotman, who was accompanied by Head of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Project Clayton Hall.
