Amazon nations summit faces fault lines on oil, deforestation

EIGHT Amazon rainforest nations are expected to face divisions over proposals to block new oil drilling and end deforestation when they meet on Tuesday for their first summit in 14 years.

The meeting of the Amazon Co-operation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) gathers heads of state from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela for two days in the northern Brazilian city of Belem

They will aim to forge unified policies, goals and positions in international negotiations on some 130 issues ranging from financing for sustainable development to indigenous inclusion

But at a pre - summit meeting last month , Colombian President Gustavo Petro pushed his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to block all new oil development in the Amazon Brazil is weighing whether to develop a potentially huge offshore oil find near the mouth of the Amazon River.

“ Are we going to let hydrocarbons be explored in the Amazon rainforest?

To deliver them as exploration blocks? Is there wealth there or is there the death of humanity?” Petro asked in a speech alongside Lula

Days later , Petro underscored the issue in an op-ed in the Miami Herald, writing: “As heads of state, we must assure the end of new oil and gas exploration in the Amazon.”

The debate over drilling for oil near the mouth of the

Amazon has sparked fierce infighting in Lula’s sevenmonth-old government, pitting advocates for regional development against environmentalists

Asked whether oil would factor into an accord at the summit , Brazilian diplomats told journalists last week that a joint statement was still being negotiated and economic development more broadly was under discussion

A Brazilian government official, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said that Colombia was in an easy position to propose no new drilling in the Amazon because it did not have significant oil reserves there, unlike Brazil or Peru

For his part, Lula pushed at the pre-summit meeting in Leticia, Colombia, for all countries in the region to pledge an end to deforestation by 2030 Only Bolivia and Venezuela have not yet made such a commitment

Bolivia could be a barrier to such a regional 2030 pact, the Brazilian government source said Primary forest loss there rose 32 per cent last year amid fires and rapid agricultural expansion, according to Global Forest Watch

The Bolivian government did not respond to requests for comment

Other differences that could surface at the summit are more subtle disagreements about priorities Colombia hosted the pre-summit meeting where top on the agenda was cross-border collaboration to address the rising threat of drug traffickers perpetrating environmental crimes in the Amazon Brazil , by contrast , has emphasised opportunities for sustainable development , reflecting Lula’s campaign platform focused on poverty reduction and conservation. (Reuters)

$27M in cocaine found at cargo company, suspect arrested

THE Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) on Sunday, while conducting a routine operation at a cargo company next to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Timehri , found $27 million in cocaine.

According to CANU , officers intercepted a motor car with registration number PWW 5561 driven by a lone occupant

A subsequent search of the motor car led to the discovery of 23 brick-like parcels of suspected cocaine and a 9mm pistol and a magazine with 14 matching rounds

Christopher Michael Douglas , a 37 - year - old of 1070 Providence East Bank Demerara and 127 King Edward Street, Albouystown, Georgetown was arrested and escorted to CANU Headquarters along with the suspected narcotic

Arrested: Christopher Michael Douglas

The narcotic tested positive for cocaine, weighting approximately 26.016 kilograms, almost 57.35 pounds, with a street value of approximately $27 million Investigations are ongoing.

To prevent narcotics from being transshipped via passenger or cargo, CANU is collaborating with other stakeholders at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Eugene F. Correia International Airport