Gustavo Manrique, Chancellor of Ecuador, raises the corrosive damages of transnational corporations that exploit and degrade the Amazon ecosystem and destroy the ecological heritage, representing a system that houses ethnic groups and unique species of flora and fauna, advocating for biodiversity, culture and knowledge. teleSUR
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00:00 Today, we feel a deep connection with the Amazonian region, which reminds us that we
00:22 are part of something bigger, something larger than life itself.
00:32 I was minister of environment for 24 months.
00:47 And in a meeting held in Stockholm, we witnessed how foreign enterprise was trying to take
01:08 advantage of the natural resources of the region.
01:17 Someone asked if there was any people dead during this event.
01:38 And after a short silence, I was told that there were two fatalities.
01:50 And those fatalities were that those machines used in that event destroyed two trees that
02:04 were one of the largest trees in that region.
02:07 And I understood from that story that the real victim here in this crisis is not the
02:14 humanity itself, but the nature, which is the one that is suffering all the damages
02:21 that humanity has caused ever since the industrial revolution.
02:39 The Amazonian region is home for thousands of birds and animals, but it is also home
02:46 for millions of indigenous citizens.
02:49 The Amazonian region does not represent a big amount of our territory, but still is
03:16 home of thousands of indigenous communities.
03:38 The National Park, Yosemite, is home of thousands of bird species, which represents a larger
03:57 number taking into account the amount of species that the United States and Canada will have
04:05 together.
04:15 The most important matter right now is the nature.
04:22 And all these statistics show that preserving our region is essentially our main goal.
04:46 We have created a new ecological program taking into account the needs of our citizens and
04:58 created medicines based on natural resources.
05:19 Today we have the opportunity of changing the situation we're facing right now.
05:32 We have the responsibility of creating new policies in order to be able to fulfill that
05:41 natural patrimony that we have.
05:54 Our government has increased by 43% the protected areas in our country.
06:10 Unfortunately, there is something that we regret, and it is the fact that the water
06:28 that most of the indigenous communities consume is polluted.
06:51 Our national government has created other ecological policies that provide our economy
07:06 with sustainable agriculture, which has been developing through the past years and has
07:15 been able to provide, especially for the Hamazonic citizens and the indigenous communities.
07:37 Our colleagues, the eight countries surrounding the Hamazonic areas are very rich in natural
07:46 resources.
07:57 We
08:20 need to take into account alternatives like the
08:27 government of Ecuador had, of taking advantage of the resources that each region has to be
08:36 able to provide economically for the country without damaging the natural resources or
08:43 the ecosystem.
08:55 We need to stop the implementation of traditional economic systems and programs.
09:06 We need to make a transition to ecological programs that both protect the environment
09:16 and the well-being of the indigenous people and the rest of the citizens in each region.
09:35 The Hamazonic region represents hope for the Latin American countries of achieving economical
09:53 environmental programs that are able to provide for our regions, always taking into account
10:01 the needs and the voices of the citizens who have a direct contact with nature.
10:22 We need to institutionalize organizations that fight for the indigenous people's rights
10:44 and the preservation of the environment.
10:49 We need to keep up with the collaboration between social movements and political movements
11:01 to be able to address the problem with different perspectives.
11:23 It's important that we create these ecological initiatives, always taking into account the
11:35 cultural differences, fighting racism, and defending national identity.
11:54 Therefore, I invite all heads of state here to keep collaborating and keep participating
12:04 in this kind of summit, always providing solutions to the environmental crisis, taking into account
12:18 the particular needs of each region in order to be able to achieve a transition to an ecological
12:31 economy.