Prime Minister Mark Phillips has called on states within the Amazon region to find viable solutions to combat the serious challenges faced but he contended that environmental protection must not “translate to the absence of development” in the respective countries.
This is according to a release yesterday from the Office of the Prime Minister. Observers say that Phillips’ statement to the conference underlines the government’s intention to rapidly pursue oil extraction and other developments that could have an impact on the environment such as highways.
Phillips made the remarks on Tuesday at the opening of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) in Belem, the capital of the state of Para, Brazil.