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We
are on the brink of a tipping point
where the Amazon, my ancestral home, could
become a dry wasteland. The Amazon's
demise will ignite a carbon bomb and threaten
our very existence. But a window of opportunity
remains: Brazil's new president is gathering
Amazon leaders for a historic summit, and
we have a once-in-a-generation chance to
win key protections against the loggers
and miners fighting to keep the Amazon open for
destruction. Sign now join the People’s
Declaration for the Amazon and I will deliver
our voices straight to the summit:
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Dear
friends, |
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My
name is Txai Suruí. Just weeks ago, my
mother and I were held hostage for five
hours by illegal cattle
ranchers.
These men see me as
their enemy because I have dedicated my
life to protecting the forest -- but
they don’t realize that I am fighting
for them too.
The Amazon, where
my people have lived for more than 6,000 years,
is close to an ecological tipping point
that could turn the forest into a dry
wasteland.
If we don’t avert
this collapse, it will flood the atmosphere with
CO2, parch the Earth, and condemn 10,000 species
to extinction. And all of us --
Indigenous peoples, ranchers, people across
Brazil and the entire world -- will struggle to
survive.
But a window of
opportunity
remains. Amazon
leaders are gathering for a historic summit to
defend the rainforest -- and it could actually
work, if we can speak louder than the ranchers
and convince them to protect 80% of the
forest and fully recognize Indigenous
lands.
Stand with me now
to defend the forest that connects and
sustains all of us, and I will deliver
our voices straight to leaders at the summit.
Add your name now!
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My
people, the Paiter Suruí, have been fighting for
centuries to defend the forest, and we
have been disappointed many times -- but
this summit has reawakened
hope. After years of rampant
deforestation, mining, and violence in the
Amazon, governments seem ready to make real
changes so people can exist in harmony with the
forest.
Already the new
government in Brazil cut deforestation by more
than 60% in July compared to the year
before, but it’s not enough: we can only avoid
catastrophe if other nations join the effort to
defend the Amazon. That’s why Avaaz is
organizing its largest-ever Amazon campaign to
pressure leaders into action: thanks to funding
from Avaaz members, Indigenous communities from
around Amazonia are heading to the negotiations
to defend our home, and 9.1 million Avaaz
signers are backing us around the
world.
This summit could spark a
huge regional effort to protect the
rainforest, at the last possible moment
to save it. But we need the support
of people everywhere, to face down the loggers
and ranchers and save the ecosystem from
collapse. So add your name to the
People's Declaration now, and I will deliver our
call straight to Amazon leaders at the summit.
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I
have seen this community rise over and over
again to help protect the rainforest. Together
with allies, Avaaz has won protections and
fought bad policies. Now, this Amazon Summit can
be a chance to fast-track the protections the
rainforest so much needs, and empower my people
and other communities who live in it. Let's do
this.
With hope and
determination,
Txai Suruí and the
entire Avaaz team |
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