‘From words to action’: Indigenous leaders press presidents at Amazon summit

Indigenous organisations from all eight Amazon countries pressed South American presidents meeting in Bogotá to turn promises into enforceable measures on land rights, extractive industries and protection of environmental defenders.

The ABC News reports that the Fifth Presidential Summit of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) included open forums and high‑level meetings, with a joint “Declaration of Bogotá” due at the end of the week.

Leaders were urged to formalise Indigenous participation in ACTO decision‑making, recognise and secure collective territories, halt new oil, gas and mining projects and create an observatory tracking threats against defenders.

AP’s follow‑up dispatch notes that presidents and senior officials from Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia joined others to endorse the declaration, with Brazil’s president arguing for stronger global climate governance.

Indigenous representatives welcomed steps toward direct finance mechanisms… but warned that without enforcement, the region’s forests and communities remain vulnerable.

The summit built on the 2023 Belém Declaration, which Indigenous leaders say has seen slow implementation.