Many countries use deforestation as a tool to make money but imagine if there was a way to incentivize them to maintain their forests. In comes the Tropical Forests Forever Facility fund from Brazil.
According to The New York Times, Brazil wants to pay developing countries a fee of $4 for every 2.5 acres of forests they maintain annually. It also wants to fine the countries $400 for every 2.5 acres they lost during the year. This number is roughly the same as a soybean farm would bring in for every 2.5 acres, one of the most profitable uses of land in the Amazon.
Brazil envisions the fund to be $125 billion, per the Times. Brazil's proposal involves rich nations and philanthropies loaning the fund $25 billion, which they would get back with interest. Additionally, the hope is that private investors would put in $100 billion, which would be paid back at a fixed rate. Then, the Tropical Forests Forever Facility would invest the money into a diverse portfolio to repay investors. This process is how a bank works.
"The idea is elegant," said Frances Seymour, a senior adviser on forests for the U.S. State Department, per the Times.
Brazil plans to finalize how the fund works this year and roll it out next year.
This fund is crucial because forests are essential to people across the globe. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 70 million people "call forests home." Not only do forests provide a home for people, but they also provide jobs, food, fuel, and oxygen — over 1.6 billion people in the world "depend on forests for food and fuel."
If we lose the forests, we lose all of these basic needs.
Additionally, forests are known as a "carbon sink" because they absorb the polluting gases from the air. According to the World Resources Institute, world forests absorb 7.6 billion metric tonnes (8.4 U.S. tons) of polluting gases a year. That is 1.5 times more than what is released in the U.S. each year.
Forests also have a cooling effect. Researchers found that forests can keep the planet a half a degree cooler, and in some places, it can even keep it more than a degree cooler.
The best way you can help protect these valuable resources is to donate to climate causes that are working to protect forests worldwide.
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