Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo were invited by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) to participate in the Amazon Summit, which takes place between this Tuesday (8) and Wednesday (9) , in Belém, Pará.
Together, the countries have three of the largest tropical forests in the world: the Amazon, the Congo and the Borneo-Mekong, which passes through Indonesia.
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According to Lula, “in addition to the eight Amazonian countries, the presence of Indonesia and the two Congos [República do Congo e República Democrática do Congo]countries with tropical forests, is fundamental for an alliance for sustainable development”.
I spoke with the President of the Republic of Indonesia, @jokowi. He thanked for the invitation to the Amazon Summit, where they will send a representative. In addition to the eight Amazonian countries, the presence of Indonesia and the two Congos, countries with tropical forests, is fundamental for…
— Lula (@LulaOficial) August 2, 2023
The president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, confirmed to Lula that he will send a representative to the meeting. The leaders of both African countries — Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo and Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo — also said they would attend.
In November last year, the countries presented the creation of an alliance during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27), which took place in Egypt, in which Lula participated as president-elect.
Between the 26th and 28th of October, a meeting is scheduled between the countries in Brazzville, capital of the Republic of Congo.
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congo forest
The Congo Forest covers 2.86 million km² and extends over six countries in Central Africa: Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Representing 6% of the world’s forest area, the biome plays a crucial role in the stability of the global climate, avoiding what would be equivalent to 10 years of global CO² emissions.
More than 10,000 species of tropical plants are found in the region. Among the animals, there are more than 400 mammals, 1,000 species of birds and 700 species of fish. It is also home to endangered animals such as forest elephants and mountain gorillas.
Amazon rainforest
With 6.74 million km², the Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world and extends over eight countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname.
According to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, the biome is home to 73% of mammal species and 80% of birds, out of a total of over 120,000 species of animals existing in Brazil. Among them are the mountain cock, the spider monkey, the giant otter and the black caiman.
Most of the Amazonian territory is composed of dense and open forests, but it is home to a diversity of other ecosystems, such as seasonal forests, igapó forests, flooded fields, floodplains, savannahs, mountain refuges, campinaranas and pioneer formations, according to the National System of Forest Information (SNIF).
The Amazon hydrographic basin is the largest in the world, with about 6 million km², with 1,110 tributaries, concentrating 15% of the non-frozen surface fresh water on the planet.
Borneo-Mekong Forest
The Borneo-Mekong Forest is divided into two regions: the island of Borneo and the Mekong River.
The Mekong River is one of the largest in the world, and flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The island of Borneo, is the fourth largest in the world, and is divided between Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. Representing just 1% of the world’s land, it holds about 6% of the world’s biodiversity in its tropical forests.
The biome has more than 15,000 plants, about 6,000 of which are native and are found in swamps, mangroves, flat and mountain forests. Among the animals found are Bornean orangutans, Bornean pygmy elephants, Sumatran tigers and Sumatran rhinos.
See also: Deforestation alerts in the Amazon register a 66% drop in July
Source: CNN Brasil
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