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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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