Belém, Brazil (EFE).- A group of 49 countries, including several Latin American and European nations such as Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Spain, and Germany, pledged to combat wildfires through prevention and increased international cooperation amid the COP 30 Summit on Thursday.
This commitment is part of a «call to action on integrated fire management and resilience to forest fires,» released at the leaders’ summit of the climate conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil.
The signatory nations, joined by three international organizations, acknowledged that wildfires are one of the most dramatic manifestations of climate change, affecting everyone equally, and constitute a challenge that «no country is capable of facing alone.»
They pledged to promote a paradigm shift and drive a global transition from reactive fire suppression to proactive prevention.
It means choosing to create permanent firebreaks and clear forests to prevent wildfires instead of buying tanker planes to extinguish them.
The signatory nations also agreed to strengthen international cooperation to prevent, combat, and recover from fires, which in recent years have hit Bolivia, the United States, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and Greece particularly hard, among many other countries.
They aim to establish an action protocol in this section to help each other as quickly as possible.
It includes «intensifying cross-border and inter-institutional collaboration» by sharing technologies and good practices.
Furthermore, they intend to support local populations, including Indigenous peoples, and combat environmental crimes.
In the case of the Amazon, much of the fire is part of a destructive cycle that begins with illegal land occupation, followed by deforestation, burning, and conversion to pastureland for livestock.
The countries that supported the call include Germany, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Spain, Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Morocco, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Uruguay, South Korea, and North Korea. EFE
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