Eight Amazon rainforest countries open summit in Brazil

The Guama River, near the city of Belem, Brazil (Eraldo Peres/AP)

For the first time in 14 years, presidents of the South American countries home to the Amazon rainforest are converging to chart a common course for protection of the bioregion and address organised crime.

The summit on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Brazilian city of Belem is a meeting of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation, a toothless, 45-year-old alliance that has met only three times before.