Last Tuesday (October 20th), ICLEI South America held an event. Daring Cities the panel Amazonia: Urban Development, Sustainability and Partnerships.

The event brought together regional and local governments from the Amazon and civil society in a broad discussion about sustainable development in the world's largest tropical rainforest and the governments surrounding it, coupled with opportunities to build a network focused on protecting the forest through ongoing dialogue.

“Local governments must play a more prominent role in addressing Amazonian dynamics. The Leticia Pact calls upon us to engage in and intensify cooperation between Amazonian nations and the actors and government leaders present,” declared the executive secretary of ICLEI South America, Rodrigo Perpétuo, at the opening of the session.

“It is necessary to reconcile the need to address the urban infrastructure deficit that Amazonian cities have, the appreciation of biodiversity and the role of municipalities in the conservation of the Amazonian biome, aligned with the principles that will lead us to COP15 on biodiversity and COP26 on climate,” Perpétuo continued.

The role of local governments was also highlighted in the speech by Nicole Stopfer, regional director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program in Latin America (EKLA) at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). “The true experts are the mayors, who live that reality every day. The role of the city is to reinforce the political commitments that have been established in recent years in defense of environmental conservation. Every city has a particular vision regarding the Amazon issue, and the role of the Pan-Amazonian Cities Forum (FCPA) is to help find solutions together, based on nature,” she said.

The FCPA has been articulated by ICLEI South America, Way-Carbon, and EKLA with the goal of establishing a platform for subnational governments in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador to promote the exchange of knowledge, practices, and sustainable development models among Amazonian cities.

The current mayor of Manaus, Arthur Virgílio, also participated in the meeting, bringing the local perspective on the potential of working with the standing forest. “The forest on the ground turns to ashes, desolation, desert, it empties the rivers, it destroys the clouds that bring rain to the entire region and continent. We have the possibility to grow, create prosperity, guarantee good income for our partners with the forest standing. A large part of the world's reserve of potable water is here. We have national and historical commitments to develop the region and protect the riverside and indigenous populations,” he pointed out.

“Competent governance of the Amazon would generate international respect. Brazil should be a biotechnology powerhouse, not a military powerhouse. We have this vocation, working on development and sustainability while protecting indigenous peoples. We have duties to the world, a responsibility to what was agreed upon in Paris in 2015, and the Amazon is fundamental to this, being one of the greatest pillars in the fight against global warming. Illegal mining has no place here.”. "The world will not accept that we do not collaborate in the fight against global warming," added Virgílio.

The representative from the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), Ane Alencar, focused her speech on the problems of deforestation and the centrality of the articulation of urban areas in the Amazon for thinking about sustainable development in the region. “When we say that 100% of the fires in the region are caused by humans, it means that someone is striking that match. Half of the Amazonian territory consists of protected areas, indigenous lands, or Conservation Units. A quarter consists of productive areas for agriculture and livestock. Another quarter of this area consists of public forests that have not yet been designated and unclaimed lands. When we look at the fire map, it becomes clear that the indigenous people are not the ones burning the forest,” Alencar observed.

“The main cancer in the Amazon today is the illegal appropriation of public lands, generating a serious problem of conflicts in the countryside, land grabbing, and deforestation. Local governments are an important actor in sustainability management, and institutional coordination is necessary to combat Amazonian problems. A fundamental tool is engaging the urban population in this pro-sustainability and pro-governance agenda,” he emphasized.

Concluding the session, Jaciara Borari, representative of the Borari indigenous people and coordinator of Engajamundo, delivered an inspiring speech. “In our region there is land grabbing, hydroelectric dams, and illegal deforestation. There is nowhere to run, and we don't want that either, because we are on our land. We don't want to be expelled from here,” she declared. 

“Today, we indigenous people are conquering spaces and are inside the university, we are graduating and producing science ourselves, combining empirical and technical knowledge, achievements that we are seeking little by little,” he added. “If things continue this way, the Amazon will cease to be a tropical forest in 15 years. If we want to live, we need nature to be alive too.”