United for Our Forests: Joint Communiqué of Developing Forest Countries in Belém

We, the Presidents and Heads of Delegation of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Guyana, Indonesia, Peru, the Republic of Congo, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Venezuela, gathered in Belém do Pará, on August 9, 2023, 

1. Recognize the invaluable contribution of indigenous peoples and local communities as well as women and youth for the conservation of tropical forests.

2. Note that, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR6), "climate change is already impacting tropical forests around the world, including through distributional shifts of forest biomes, changes in species composition, biomass, pests and diseases, and increases in forest fires". 

3. Reaffirm our commitment to forest preservation, reducing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, conserving and valuing biodiversity, and pursuing a just ecological transition, convinced that our forests can be centers of sustainable development and sources of solutions for national and global sustainability challenges, reconciling economic prosperity with environmental protection and social well-being, especially for indigenous peoples and local communities, including through the development of innovative mechanisms that recognize and promote ecosystem functions/services and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.  

4. Express our concern regarding the non-fulfillment by developed countries of their commitments to provide official development assistance equivalent to 0.7% of their gross national income, and to provide $100 billion in climate financing per year in new and additional resources to developing countries, and call on developed countries to fulfill their climate financing obligations and to contribute to the mobilization of $200 billion per year by 2030, as set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to support the implementation of national biodiversity action plans and strategies through the provision of new, additional, predictable, and adequate financial resources. 

5. We also express our concern regarding the non-fulfillment by some developed countries of their mitigation targets, and reiterate the need for developed nations to take the lead in and accelerate the decarbonization of their economies, achieving greenhouse gas emissions neutrality without delay and preferably before 2050. 

6. Noting that international cooperation is the most effective way to support our sovereign commitment to reducing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, we condemn the adoption of measures to combat climate change and protect the environment, including unilateral ones, that constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.

7. Reiterate our understanding that the preferential access to forest products in developed countries’ markets will be a significant lever for the economic development of developing countries.

8. We invite other developing countries with tropical forests to engage, in preparation for COP-28 of the UNFCCC and COP-16 of the CBD and other relevant international conferences, in a dialogue, based on solidarity and cooperation, on the topics outlined in this Communiqué. 

9. We also call upon other developing countries that hold significant portions of global biodiversity to advocate that our countries must wield more influence over the management of resources allocated to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. 

10. We take note of different developing country-driven initiatives relevant to the conservation and sustainable use of forest ecosystems, such as the Trilateral Cooperation on Tropical Forest and Climate Action by Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia, and the initiative, by the Republic of Congo, of hosting a Summit of the Three Basins of Biodiversity Ecosystems and Tropical Forests.