Norad is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on programmes to fight deforestation in several areas of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Brazil to Indonesia, trees are felled at an industrial scale largely to make way for the expanding footprint of agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the picture is different in Gabon, which has preserved its section of a forest system that covers nearly 90 percent of its territory and spreads out across the Congo Basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this region, protection of forests is inextricably linked to the fight against poverty, said Solhjell.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local people rely on slash-and-burn farming and cutting trees for firewood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Cafi, Gabon’s forests absorb 140 million tons of CO2 every year and emit about 30 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also house 60 percent of the remaining population of critically endangered forest elephants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country has agreed to combat illegal logging and reduce forest degradation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The June payment was part of a much larger fund available for the country, which can claim payments for emission reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– ‘Virtuous cycle’ – <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Flore Koumba Pambo, scientific adviser at the Gabon National Parks Agency, said the funding would help fuel other projects, such as the Ivindo National Park, which has just been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She hopes it is the start of a “virtuous cycle”, adding: “We are very proud of this recognition.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Rodriguez, the Gabon partnership is a testing ground and possible blueprint for other initiatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also “a great opportunity to talk about carbon pricing” — a thorny issue that will be discussed at crunch UN climate talks in Glasgow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The donors say transparency is a crucial part of the process, as is evaluation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve also invested a lot in building up civil society, we have seen how important working with that side is,” said Solhjell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of assessing the value of natural services and supporting developing countries to preserve natural heritage, he said the Gabon project had clear benefits.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are actually paying for the services Gabon is doing to the region and the world,”  he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

so\/klm\/mh\/jxb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How much is a tree worth when its roots are in the ground and its leaves are helping suck carbon from the air? Answer: in most places, far less than the dollar value of its wood.  The value we put on nature is the subject of a motion at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille. A trailblazing partnership attracting particular attention is just getting off the ground in the rainforest of Central Africa, which absorbs tons of CO2 — the gas responsible for climate change.  At the end of June, Gabon received $17 million from the Central African Forest Initiative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n