BRAZZAVILLE, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The summit of the world's three major forest basins kicked off on Thursday in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo.
This three-day summit convenes for the first time and unites the world's three major tropical forest basins: the Amazon, Congo, and Borneo-Mekong Forest Basins.
Arlette Soudan Nonault, the Congolese minister of environment, advocated for the global protection of biodiversity. She emphasized the unique responsibilities these forest basins bear as guardians of global biodiversity, vital components of the planet's environmental health, and regulators of the Earth's carbon balance.
"We have a responsibility as the guardian of global biodiversity, as the lungs of the planet, and as regulators of the carbon balance on Earth," she said.
The minister pointed out the significance of the summit, saying "You came to Brazzaville to set in motion a historic movement and to initiate cooperation between our three basins, commensurate with our responsibilities and the challenges facing us."
Kirsten Schuijt, director general of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), called upon the governments of tropical forest countries to form a robust alliance aimed at coordinating and expediting efforts for the conservation, sustainable management and restoration of forest ecosystems.
The Amazon basin in South America, the Congo basin in Central Africa, and the Borneo-Mekong basin in Southeast Asia collectively constitute 80 percent of the world's rainforests and contain approximately two-thirds of its biodiversity. These rainforests are not only vital for their local ecosystems but also play a global role in regulating the planet's climate and sustaining life on Earth. ■