The Amazon needs help - 29th October 2021

International governments attending the COP26 environmental conference in Scotland have been asked for their assistance. The local inhabitants of the Amazon want them to guarantee protection for the 8.4 million square kilometres of rainforest.

Around 3.5 million people live in the Amazon basin and are represented by an organisation called COICA. Gregorio Mirabal, head of COICA, describes the situation.

Gregorio Mirabal: "We are not realising that human beings have become the worst enemy of nature and of life itself. So we are simply not the best, but we have shown that we can help the world and we need everyone's help."

United in COICA, the Amazon tribes have put forward a proposal to the World Congress on Protected Areas (WCPA), suggesting that 80 percent of the Amazon should be protected. The proposal was granted.

Mirabal wants people to enjoy the diversity of the rainforest in the years ahead.

Gregorio Mirabal: "In 2050, our children will be able to bathe in this river, they will be able to see what is here, they will be able to see the trees, the biodiversity, they will be able to see those macaws slowly flying, and we will be able to drink our chicha as you have seen. This is the scenario that we are offering to the world if you help us protect 80 percent of the Amazon."

The efforts of these organisations alone aren't sufficient. The lack of response from governments around the world is an obstacle. Mirabal suggests reasons for this.

Gregorio Mirabal: "At the moment the worst danger is the lack of political will of our governments and this goes hand in hand with corruption. If there is money, and there is a lot of money promised for conservation, for this to remain healthy, but it does not arrive."

As the biggest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is known as the lungs of the planet. However, vast areas of it are destroyed every day. It is estimated that if 20 percent of the forest is destroyed, it will be difficult to go back. Action is needed urgently.