Triple A Corridor: the crazy strategy to save the Amazon
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This ambitious plan seeks to join efforts between eight Amazonian countries to protect the lung of the world
For some, it would be the salvation of the planet and that of the biggest lung in the world, for others it is madness. For a couple of years, we have been hearing about the Triple A Corridor (Andes, Amazon and Atlantic) or the Anaconda Corridor, a crazy but powerful project that seeks to protect the Amazon.
Leer en español: Corredor Triple A: el salvavidas para la Amazonía
The initiative, promoted by 400 indigenous peoples of eight countries that make up the Amazon (Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, in addition to the support of indigenous communities in Bolivia), seeks to protect 265 million square kilometers of jungle. A territory of great importance, because in this place the water of the continent is 'processed', thanks to the 200 billion tons that travel from the Atlantic Ocean and are absorbed by the Amazonian flora.
This 'motor' of life is constantly threatened by the transnationals, proof of which there are the 73 hydroelectric plants built in indigenous territories and 62 in protected areas of the Amazon. As if that were not enough, 35 million hectares in aboriginal territory were granted for mining, of which 20 are under protection, according to the Amazon Environmental Information Network.
"For us, the Amazon basin is sacred, some say it is the lungs of the world, for us it is the heart of the world, and in this heart we find an immense concentration of biodiversity and cultural diversity, but this is where they are pushing forward with more extractive and industrial activities", said Tuntiak Katan, vice president of the Coalition of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin, in statements published by Semana magazine.
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The project has been so important that even the actor and film producer Leonardo DiCaprio supported the cause of the indigenous people through his official Instagram account : "Indigenous leaders from the entire Amazon basin met in Bogotá and launched a statement calling for the consolidation of the largest environmental and cultural corridor in the world to protected areas with indigenous territories, recover degraded areas and promote the sustainable use of the forest".
What happened in Egypt?
Indigenous leaders were present in Cairo during the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This meeting sought an agreement on the preparatory process for a post-2020 global framework, bringing us closer to a new Transformative Agreement for Nature and Humanity in 2020. However, there is opposition from certain governments, such as the case of Brazil.
When French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's questioning of the Paris Agreement on climate change could "entangle" the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union and Mercosur, the Latin American leader’s response was: "Automatically attach our territory, laws and sovereignty to the proposals of other nations is out of consideration”.
After the Conference, the organization WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) indicated through its official website that this is a vital step to increase global efforts and stop the dangerous loss of biodiversity.
LatinAmerican Post | Jorge Hernández
Translated from “Corredor Triple A: el salvavidas para la Amazonía”
