The world’s three largest rainforest nations, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia, on Monday formally launched a partnership to cooperate on forest conservation after a decade of ongoing talks on a tripartite alliance.
Reuters reported in August that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, elected president of Brazil in late October, would seek a partnership with the two other top rainforest nations to pressure the rich world to fund forest conservation.
The rapid destruction of tropical forests, which through their dense vegetation serve as carbon sinks, releases carbon dioxide that warms the planet, jeopardizing global climate goals. Regenerating previously deforested jungle has the benefit of removing greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.
Representatives of the three countries, which account for 52% of the world’s rainforest, signed the joint statement at talks in Indonesia ahead of the G20, or Group of 20 industrialized countries, starting on Tuesday.
“South-to-South cooperation – Brazil, Indonesia, DRC – is very natural,” DRC Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba said before the signing.
“We have the same challenges, the same opportunity to be the solution to climate change.”
In the agreement, the alliance said countries must be paid to reduce deforestation and maintain forests as carbon sinks.
Countries will also work to negotiate “a new sustainable financing mechanism” to help developing countries preserve their biodiversity, as well as increase funding through the UN’s REDD+ program to reduce deforestation.
“I think Brazil should promote that other countries should unite.”
Talks on the rainforest protection alliance have so far stalled because of “institutional difficulties”, Teixeira said.
The joint statement cited a meeting of the three countries at last year’s climate summit in Glasgow that gave impetus to the talks.
They have come to fruition in the final weeks of right-wing Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency before Lula takes office on January 1.
