Biggest Forest Protection Fund Released to Save Congo Rainforest
posted in Latest News |Largest forest protection fund has been released to protect Congo rainforest. The fund so released is basically to provide African government and people residing in the rainforest an alternative to logging, felling trees and mining for subsistence farming and firewood. Norway and Britain are granting £108m and will also help in monitoring the area by providing satellite imaging technology.
After Amazon rainforest Congo rainforest is the second largest tropical rainforest in the world. Congo rainforest would be almost twice the size of France but is quickly decreasing. At the rate of 25,000 football pitches per week the Congo rainforest is being cut down. It is said that deforestation is the major factor behind carbon dioxide warming the atmosphere nearly accounting for 18% of the annual emission.
The funds will be provided to those projects which will show alternative source of energy and income cutting down the rate of deforestation. The effectiveness of the project will be monitored by the high definition cameras that are under construction in the Rutherford Appleton laboratory in Oxfordshire, UK. These high definition cameras would be mounted on the satellite and will be launched in the orbit in the next 2 years.
At the launch of the scheme Gordon Brown said: “We are pledging to work together to secure the future of one of the world’s last remaining ancient forests.” He further added: “Preserving our forests is vital if we are going to reduce global emissions and tackle climate change.” Britain initiated the fund and is providing £58m.
The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg told The Guardian that: “By doing something about deforestation we can achieve a big and rapid reduction in emissions.” Both the Norwegian and British government thinks that the greatest challenge faced in the whole scheme is that the money should be spent effectively.
The Congo rainforest spreads around Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Gabon and Republic of the Congo. Stoltenberg said: “We know the technology. Everyone knows how not to cut down a tree. The big challenge is the institutions, the framework, the monitoring and the control. I don’t believe that is easy but that cannot prevent us for trying. [Otherwise] we won’t have any chance of reaching the reductions we need to avoid serious global warming.”