Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales gave a half-hearted welcome on Tuesday to a G7 pledge of $20 million to fight the Amazon wildfires, describing it as "tiny." An underwhelmed Morales said the aid from the most industrialized countries was part of the world's "obligation" to preserve the Amazon rainforest.
"I welcome that small, small, tiny contribution of $ 20 million from the G7 — that is not help, it is part of a shared co-responsibility, as all peoples have the obligation to preserve the ecosystem," Morales told Bolivia's Radio Panamericana.
The richest nations "should contribute a lot, and not only when there are fires," the president said, adding that he hoped the aid would arrive as quickly as possible.
Bolivia is one of nine South American countries to share the Amazon rainforest.
While fires in Brazil have captured the world's attention, Bolivia has been fighting its own blazes that Morales said on Tuesday had destroyed 1.2 million hectares, or more than 4,000 square miles of forest and grassland, since May.