An Observatory to protect the Amazon

Ricardo Patiño

Last friday,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that in El Coca, Orellana province in Ecuador, Foreign Ministers and delegates from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, the countries that comprise the Organization of the Treaty for Amazonian Cooperation (OTCA), have agreed to create an Observatory focused on the protection of the Amazon.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Congress, which was held last Friday, was cited to demonstrate the relevance of the OTCA as the entity which is responsible for the preserving and properly use of  strategic natural resources of South America and its sovereignty.

” We have reaffirmed the rights of the member countries over the Amazon and declared our commitment to deepen, expand and strengthen the process of Amazon regional cooperation”, stated Ricardo Patiño, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister.

On the other hand, the King Harald V of Norway, lived  for four days with the Indians yanomami in a village in the Amazon, for four days,  where he was received by Daví Kopenawa, the village chief, and the healer, Lorival, who lead a community of 120 inhabitants, thus said the Royal House of this Nordic country.

“This is an old dream I’ve had since my days at the World Wildlife Fund – in which he was President. Now that the opportunity appeared,  I accepted”, said the King in a statement issued by the Royal House of the monarch.