Eight South American countries have agreed to form an alliance to save the Amazon from illegal logging. Representatives from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela signed the joint declaration at Belém at the mouth of the Amazon River. They laid out a roadmap in a 10,000-word pledge to fight the organised crime that fuels deforestation, but words are cheap. None of Brazil’s seven co-signatories agreed to adopt its pledge to end all illegal deforestation by 2030. Brazil is making serious headway. It says it has managed to cut deforestation by 60 per cent since Bolsonaro’s departure from power last year. But nothing is binding about the alliance with Brazil’s neighbours, meaning trees will continue to fall.
Photograph Getty