Rainforest nations in Africa and Asia join Amazon summit to discuss rainforest preservation

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE and DAVID BILLER
Associated Press

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Representatives of rainforest nations in Africa and Southeast Asia have joined a summit of Amazon countries in Brazil to begin charting a common course for preservation of the ecologically diverse regions that are crucial in countering climate change. On Tuesday, leaders and ministers from eight Amazonian nations signed a declaration that laid out plans to drive economic development in their countries while preventing the Amazon’s ongoing demise “from reaching a point of no return.” The eight nations — Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela — are members of the newly revived Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization and have expressed hope a united front will give them a major voice in global environment talks.