We need your help say rainforest leaders

Earlier this month, representatives from the world's three largest rainforest river basins met to discuss deforestation issues.

"Having all these countries on the same page will avoid time wasted arguing with one another during negotiations - especially when it comes to climate negotiations," says Paul Telfer, head of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Congo programme in Brazzaville, where the summit meeting was held.

Home to 80% of the world's rainforests, these three regions - the Amazon in South America, the Congo in central Africa and the Borneo-Mekong Basin in south-east Asia cover over 65% of all biodiversity. Deforestation has decreased in the last decade, but around 5.4 million hectares are still lost each year across the three regions.

"We need to work together to promote best forest practices in the three basins. This is the main objective of the summit," explained Henri Djombo, Congo's forestry and environment minister, at the official opening of the talks on 30 May.

Unsuccessfully for now, the WWF called for zero net deforestation by 2020, something already announced at a national level by Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The Democratic Republic of Congo says it will protect 17% of its forests (an improvement by 5% on previous commitments) and the Republic of Congo offered to reforest one million hectares.

"We say we're going to lock away large tracts of forest and preserve them, but these are forests that could be used for other purposes," said President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana which lies in the Northern Amazon basin. His point was clear - there is an opportunity cost to protecting natural forest since it could be cut down for timber or to grow cash crops, both of which have specific values per hectare. The President's went to some lengths to point out that richer nations - particularly since they have higher carbon dioxide emissions - should be prepared to pay for rainforest conservation which is of global, as well as local and regional, benefit.

"If they (the West) can't be responsible then ... there will be temptation on the part of many countries ... who have a lot of poor people ... (to) earn more by cutting the trees and planting soya beans or ... rice or doing cattle," Jagdeo continued.

Sources: www.reuters.com  and www.nature.com

Bookmark this page: