A brand-new coalition is working to restore the Amazon rainforest — here's what it plans to do.
The group recently launched the Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Finance Coalition with a solid plan to preserve and restore the rainforest in that country. Coalition members are expected to invest in a combined $10 billion by 2030. President Joe Biden announced the coalition in Manaus.
Business Wire covered the extensive details of the BRB Finance Coalition's launch, which aims to "support projects with the aim of conserving and restoring at least 5 million hectares [around 12.4 million acres] of Brazilian forests, contributing to Brazil's efforts to halt and reverse deforestation."
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Working in concert with other conservation initiatives, like the Brazilian Ecological Transformation Plan, the BRB Finance Coalition hopes to have results ready to announce at the United Nations climate summit this year.
The Amazon rainforest is our planet's largest rainforest. It spans over eight countries and is around two times the size of India, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Millions of people and animals call the Amazon rainforest home. Despite this, it is at risk. Deforestation, fires, and warming global temperatures have already claimed a huge chunk of what the forest used to be — an area as large as France, says the WWF.
Its preservation is of monumental importance for preventing a climate-related crisis and for ensuring the livelihoods of the people and animals that live there — along with those who depend on products from the Amazon. For instance, many modern medicines contain ingredients that can only be found in the rainforest.
The Nature Conservancy, the World Economic Forum, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Conservation International, re.green, and Banco do Brasil are among the founding members of the BRB Finance Coalition, and they had much to say about the momentous occasion.
Patricia Zurita, the chief strategy officer for Conservation International, highlighted the importance of the Amazon, said, per Business Wire: "The Amazon functions as our planet's central nervous system — regulating global weather patterns, impacting the supply of food and fresh water, and safeguarding an extraordinary diversity of life on Earth. Protecting its health is protecting our own."
Thiago Picolo, the CEO of re.green, added that "the restoration of tropical forests has a key role to play in addressing the climate crisis, reversing biodiversity loss, and generating sustainable economic opportunities for surrounding communities. Brazil has the potential to be a leader in this sector, and re.green is proud to join the BRB Finance Coalition as a founding member."
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