In partnership with the Accidental Committees on Forests and Climate Change of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic, under the leadership of House Representative Julia Miranda and Senator Julio Estrada, and the Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (FCDS), the Interfaith Initiative for Tropical Forests (IRI-Colombia) held the political forum “Congressmen for the Life of the Amazon”, a space to reaffirm the commitment to protect the Amazon forest from an ethical, spiritual, intercultural and multisectoral approach.
“We all know the problems that affect the Amazon. It is time to look for solutions. As indigenous peoples, we have a perspective on how to protect it, but that is just one vision and there are different visions that we must share,” said Senator Julio Estrada, in his speech at the opening of the forum, held on June 12 at the National Capitol.
For her part, Blanca Lucía Echeverry said that the Colombian Amazon is not only a region, but the heart of our ecological, cultural and spiritual identity. “Their protection is not an option, it is a moral responsibility,” emphasized the national coordinator of IRI-Colombia.
This political event brought together Congressmen, representatives of national and international entities, indigenous peoples, the scientific community and 34 religious leaders from IRI’s local chapters in Putumayo, Meta, Caquetá and Guaviare.
The political meeting was attended by Dolores Barrientos Alemán, representative of the United Nations Environment Program in Colombia; Martín von Hildebrand, Secretary General of ACTO; and Harold Rincón Ipuchima, advisor to the ONIC’s senior council, on issues of biodiversity, climate change and international cooperation.
Gilvan Sampaio de Oliveira, coordinator of the Earth Sciences area of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) of Brazil, also participated, who presented worrying data on the loss of resilience of the forest to climate change. In his keynote speech, he warned about the increase in average temperature in the Amazon region, water stress and the synergistic effects of deforestation and global warming. According to the Brazilian scientist, if these trends continue, the Amazon could reach a point of no climate return.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the panel “Understanding the pressures on the Amazon and the opportunities for urgent action”, in which the Counselor for Forests and Climate of the Norwegian Embassy, Silje Marie Haugland; the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Lena Estrada Añokazi; the Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Colombia, Jörg Schreiber; the coordinator of Territory, Environment and Climate Change of OPIAC, Carlos Alberto Gaitán; the director of the Gaia Amazonas Foundation, Camilo Guio Rodríguez; and the director of the Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Rodrigo Botero. In a space for listening and reflection, they shared diagnoses, proposals and testimonies in defense of the largest biome in the country.
“Congress must prioritize the formulation, updating and effective application of regulatory frameworks that ensure the conservation of Amazonian ecosystems and the protection of their communities,” said the representative to the House and president of the Accidental Commission on Forests and Climate Change of this corporation, Julia Miranda, who read the Declaration “Congressmen for the life of the Amazon”. a joint call that reaffirms the “commitment to the comprehensive defense of the Amazon and that its effective protection is a shared responsibility and an ethical, political and environmental imperative” and urges congressmen to address crucial issues for the preservation of this region, such as the implementation of Indigenous Territorial Entities, sustainable economic models, the strengthening of environmental legislation and transnational environmental crimes, among other issues.
This forum marks a key step towards consolidating a parliamentary alliance that will push for legislation in favor of the rainforest. It also strengthens the legislative advocacy agenda of IRI-Colombia, which works to integrate the ethics of care into political action, ensuring that the voice of spirituality and the Amazonian territories is present in the decisions that define the future of the country and the planet.
More than 150 people attended.
