COP30 puts Belém on the map as Brazil showcases the Amazon to the world

Filho told The Indian Express: “In all the COPs, the delegates speak about environment conservation, they talk about forests. We wanted this COP to showcase that both nature and development can coexist. This was our opportunity to show the world what the Amazon looks like. It was also an opportunity to show the world that not all Amazonians live in the forest; 80% of the people actually live in cities like everyone else.”

“Initially people from both outside and inside of Brazil said that we cannot do this, yet we worked together and made this happen together. Today, the entire world is watching up drafting and formulating ideas for a safe and secure tomorrow,” he added.

Readying the city for the conference was a mammoth task, says Filho. The Brazilian government spent 60.5 billion Brazilian real (around $1.2 billion) on preparations that began soon after Brazil was made the COP30 host.

Belém has a sea port as well as an international airport. However, these facilities didn’t have the infrastructure where cruise ships could anchor and remain in the harbour throughout the duration of the conference.

“We had to increase the height of the port to expand the area to make way of the ships. This entire process was done within a period of five months. Meanwhile, we also retrofitted our airport to ensure it can hold a larger load of aircraft and this included expanding the runways and augmenting the hangars and this process was achieved within 14-months,” Filho said.

Now, thousands of delegates from around the globe are staying in two cruise ships anchored at the Belém Port. These ships are doubling up as five-star hotels as well as offices for negotiators when the meetings are not taking place at the COP venue.

At the beginning of 2025, accommodation cost and hotel charges in Belém saw an exorbitant rise, so much so that the government of Brazil had to intervene.

“We held meetings with the management of local hotels, restaurants and transport bodies to ensure everything is streamlined and the delegates, visitors who would be visiting the city during COP don’t face any inconvenience. We had to make people believe and understand how important this event is not only for Belém, but also for Brazil,” Filho said.

Belém residents, meanwhile, are welcoming the global spotlight on Amazonian culture.

“Belém knows about the world, but does the world know anything about Belém? Until a month ago not many people knew anything about this place. Most of the tourists who would come here are from different parts of Brazil. There were hardly any international passengers visiting Belém. But now, we believe, we have made our mark in the global map and people will take note of Belém, as they take note of other big cities,” said Angelina Marcus, a restaurant owner at Vero-Peso-Market.

Gabrielle, another shop owner at this market, said: “Today, everywhere in the city, we see people talking about our food, our people and our forest. This is a big thing for us because the culture of Amazon is truly unexplored by the main world.”

Peter Marcellus, a Belém resident who is a professor and observer in COP30, said: “People in Belém don’t have the exposure to the globalised world yet and since a large population living here is indigenous in nature, the populace of several global languages hasn’t reached here. But we are hopeful that this will gradually change from now on.”

The writer is in Belem to cover COP30 as part of his fellowship on investigative journalism on climate reporting under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.