The city of 1.4 million got its name from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ. In Portuguese, it translates as Belem.
Under a law promulgated Tuesday by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, it will be the symbolic capital of the country for the duration of the conference, which is expected to gather some 50,000 delegates from around the world from November 10-21.
Here are five things to know about Belem.
- Love of Acai -
Acai, a so-called super fruit derived from a palm tree, has become trendy globally in recent years, and is reputed to hold energizing and antioxidant properties.
In Belem, it is a staple with just about every meal.
Resembling a large blueberry, the fruit is harvested in the Amazon rainforest that encircles the city, tons of it unloaded every day at a dock near the popular Ver-o-Peso market -- a major tourist attraction.
In restaurants, crushed Acai in the form of a thick purple sauce with an earthy, somewhat tart taste, is served as a side with many typical dishes.
It is a favorite with pirarucu, an Amazonian freshwater fish that can grow up to three meters long.
- Catholic fervor -
Belem has faced logistical difficulties -- mainly in hotel room shortages -- in hosting the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Yet every October, it hosts a religious ceremony that gathers hundreds of thousands of Catholic devotees -- most of whom are from Belem or nearby.
This year, the Cirio de Nazare, recognized as an "intangible cultural heritage" by UNESCO, set a record with 2.6 million attendees.
The festivities honor Our Lady of Nazareth, the patron saint of Belem, nicknamed the "Queen of the Amazon" by locals.
Her image is ubiquitous in the city, where religious references and imagery abound.
- Where are the trees? -
Arriving in Belem by plane, one is struck by the emerald green forest growth surrounding a vast riverine metropolis.
Paradoxically, less than half of the city's inhabitants live on tree-lined streets -- only 45.5 percent, according to Brazil's IBGE statistics institute.
The national average is 66 percent.
Scientists have pointed to a growing trend of higher-than-normal urban warming in the city -- already hot and humid -- due to the shortage of heat-absorbing greenery and high asphalt coverage.
- Poverty -
More than half the population of Belem (57.1 percent) lives in poor and densely populated neighborhoods known as favelas.
This is the highest rate among Brazilian metropolises, according to the IBGE.
- Music -
Belem's most beloved star is Fafa de Belem -- one of several female singers to have put the otherwise little-known city on Brazil's cultural map.
The state of Para, of which Belem is the capital, is also the birthplace of Carimbo, an Afro-Indigenous music genre also recognized by UNESCO.
Pay to protect: Brazil pitches new forest fund at COP30
Paris (AFP) Nov 5, 2025 -
Tropical countries from Cameroon to Colombia could earn tens of millions of dollars a year under a novel approach to protecting the world's rainforests being launched at the COP30 summit in Brazil.
The inauguration of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) is expected Thursday as global leaders meet in the Brazilian Amazon, where this year's UN climate negotiations are being held.
Brazil is courting $125 billion from governments and private financiers for a global investment fund that proposes making annual payments to developing countries for every hectare of forest they keep standing.
The scheme has attracted some early interest, but investors have been less forthcoming. Here's what to know about Brazil's centrepiece forest initiative at COP30:
- Why is it needed? -
Most of the world's primary rainforest lies in poorer tropical countries where there is simply more money to be made cutting down trees than saving them.
Decades of promises by wealthy countries to bankroll the fight against deforestation have not materialised, said Joao Paulo de Resende, special climate adviser at Brazil's finance ministry.
Despite some improvements at the national level, including in Brazil, deforestation rates remain at record highs globally: the equivalent of 18 football fields of primary forest was lost every minute in 2024.
This is an enormous problem for the planet. Rainforests are rich in biodiversity and help regulate the climate, and destroying them releases vast amounts of stored carbon.
- How does the fund work? -
Enter the forest fund, which proposes creating a reliable, long-term revenue stream to undercut the economic incentive in tropical countries to chop down trees.
It first needs to find $25 billion from "sponsor" governments wanting to burnish their conservation credentials and willing to take the first hit should the fund suffer losses.
By absorbing more risk, Brazil hopes to attract another $100 billion from private investors like pension and sovereign funds whose returns would be better protected.
Their combined capital would be ploughed into emerging markets to generate profits which, after interest repayments to investors, flow to tropical countries with low deforestation rates as confirmed by satellite.
This approach differs from carbon markets or the traditional "grant and aid model", where donations are given to specific forest conservation projects, said Pakhi Das, who has studied the fund for Plant-for-the-Planet, a non-profit initiative.
"It is profitable for both the tropical forest countries who are receiving these funds... and investors who are going to be paying for conservation," she said.
- Who stands to benefit? -
Brazil expects the fund to generate $4 billion a year for conservation and, according to its latest concept note, has identified 74 forest-rich nations that could split the spoils.
In reality, far fewer would be eligible, at least initially.
Only countries with a low rate of annual deforestation -- below 0.5 percent -- would meet the criteria, and that record must be maintained, year after year, to keep receiving payments.
"I think that's quite straightforward... is deforestation being reduced, or not? And if not -- no payment anymore," World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Brazil's executive director, Mauricio Voivodic, told AFP.
It should also motivate others to up their game, experts told AFP. In many cases, the potential payout is double or triple what national governments or outside donors provide for forest conservation.
Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo could theoretically earn hundreds of millions of dollars a year should they stamp out deforestation entirely.
- Will it work? -
Brazil has pledged $1 billion to the fund -- the only country to commit any money so far. Indonesia has announced its intention to invest, but has not specified an amount.
"What we do need to get at COP is like a political message that this is the way forward," said Resende, who said the fund could still launch without all $25 billion.
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Tuesday Brazil was confident of raising "about $10 billion by the end of next year".
However, Britain -- which helped formulate the initiative -- announced Wednesday it will not contribute amid stretched public finances ahead of a government budget later this month.
"We continue to back the scheme, and we'll explore ways to bring the full weight of the UK private finance sector to support (it)," Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman said.
Some diplomats have expressed concerns over the fund's monitoring methods and scepticism that it will receive the high credit rating needed to attract outside investors, let alone such returns on emerging markets.
Observers said it was a difficult time to be asking governments for large contributions to forest conservation, but stressed that the long-term project could garner support over time.
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