Presidents and representatives from seven countries in South America's Amazon region met in Colombia on Friday to discuss a joint strategy for preserving the world's largest rainforest, which has been under threat from a record number of wildfires.

At the summit, the seven countries signed a pact to coordinate disaster response and satellite monitoring, along with creating an information network to enhance cooperation in the face of natural disasters like wildfires.

The pact will also increase cooperation on fighting causes of deforestation, including illegal mining and forest clearing for agriculture and drug trafficking.

Read more: Amazon wildfires: Leaders pressure Brazil to quell 'international crisis'

Colombian President Ivan Duque said the Amazon countries were seeking backing from multilateral banks such as the Inter-American Development Bank.

The meeting in Leticia, the capital of Colombia's Amazon region, brought together delegates from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana and Suriname.

Bolsonaro's Amazonian 'sovereignty'

A notable absentee at the meeting was Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil, where tens of thousands of forest fires have been recorded so far this year. Bolsonaro, who followed the summit via videoconference, did not attend because of upcoming surgery.

Brazil's foreign minister, Ernesto Araujo, represented the country at the meeting.

Bolsonaro had originally called for the meeting in response to international attempts at intervention, saying Latin American countries in the region should manage the situation themselves.

In his remarks during the meeting, Bolsonaro said the pact was an affirmation of each country's sovereignty.

Speaking by videoconference, Bolsonaro urged other leaders to resist calls to internationalize protection of the Amazon.

"We must take a strong position of defense of sovereignty so that each country can develop the best policy for the Amazon region, and not leave it in the hands of other countries," said Bolsonaro.

Read more: Amazon versus Africa forest fires: Is the world really ablaze?

The meeting in Leticia, the capital of Colombia's Amazon region, brought together delegates from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana and Suriname.

Critical climate region

The Brazilian leader, a climate-change skeptic, has come under international criticism over his environmental policies favoring agriculture and mining, which are thought to have encouraged farmers to start many fires to clear land for grazing and crops.

Almost 85,000 fires have been recorded in Brazil so far this year, 75% more than in the same period in 2018.

The fires in the Amazon region are of immense international concern, as the rainforest there has a decisive effect on both the regional and global climate while being one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth.

Read more: The Amazon: Vital for our planet

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia Scorched earth According to official numbers, wildfires have burned through more than 1 million hectares of dry forest and farmland in Bolivia. In the area of Santa Rosa de Tucabaca in the country's eastern Chiquitania region, the fires have raged for over a month, threatening indigenous populations and devastating Bolivia's rich biodiversity.

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia An ominous glow Out-of-control wildfires light up the night sky. The unique Chiquitania region — characterized by both savannah and forest — experienced a severe drought this year. It's common practice for farmers to start small, easily-monitored fires during the months of July and August to prepare the soil for the next harvest. But many have quickly spread this season and morphed into wildfires.

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia Slash-and-burn Areas of forest which have already been cut down are more likely to catch alight. Many of the fires in Bolivia were started by small farmers after President Evo Morales passed legislation in July that encourages slash-and-burn farming to open up new land for agricultural use. Morales has been accused of pushing populist policies and failing to act quickly to contain the wildfires.

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia A growing disaster The fires are still expanding through the Chiquitania region. Indigenous people have been affected, including the Chiquitanos and the Ayoreos peoples, who produce citrus fruits, beans, rice, and corn.

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia Losing livelihoods Vania Montenegro Aranibar (39) is a local farmer from the village of Peniel, where she cultivates lemons, passion fruits and avocados. The fire quickly surrounded her property, destroying her fields and killing her ducks. "They died in half an hour because their feathers caught on fire," she told DW. "I'm very sad how many animals must have been burned, how many species, trees."

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia Nowhere to run This anteater was just one of countless animals caught in the fires which passed through the area of Chochis. Firefighters on the ground have described heartbreaking scenes of terrified animals fleeing from the flames, including armadillos, snakes, tapirs and jaguars. Those who survived are now at risk of starvation due to the lack of food and water.

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia Fighting back Firefighters Moises Soria Valverde and Ronald Picolomini visit a badly affected area in Santa Rosa de Tucabaca. Alongside other firefighters, they are helping with efforts to try and control the massive wildfires. They cut through the dense forest with machetes and try to extinguish the flames with 20 liter water tanks on their backs. But the battle still feels like an impossible fight.

Burning across the border: Fires rage in Bolivia Impossible to reach Outside of the village of Robore, the wildfires have now spread to areas mostly inaccessible to firefighters. The Chiquitano dry forests are part of an ecoregion connecting the tropical Amazon biome with the semiarid Gran Chaco region, which stretches into western Paraguay, northern Argentina and part of Brazil. Author: Juan Gabriel Estellano



wmr,tj/sms (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

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