South America to hold Amazon summit

South America's Amazonian countries will hold a summit to discuss ways to sustainably exploit the rainforest in Leticia, Colombia on Sept 6.

Global concern over the destruction of the Amazon sparked a spat between Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who called on the international community to take steps to protect the world's largest tropical rainforest. Bolsonaro accused him of impinging on national sovereignty.

"So much so that on Sept 6 we will get together with these presidents, except Venezuela, to discuss a single policy on environmental preservation and sustainable exploitation in our region," said Bolsonaro.

Brazil, Peru and Colombia are home to most of the Amazon rainforest, though parts lie in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana and Suriname.

Brazil owns about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, which covers an area of some 5,500,000 square kilometers in South America.