Norwegian Minister of Climate and the Environment Espen Barth Eide on Wednesday reiterated his country’s commitment to an Amazon protection fund during a visit to Brazil.
Barth Eide said Norway, which contributes more than 90 percent of the Amazon Fund, would also help Brazil find new donors.
The fund is worth more than 3 billion reais (US$572.8 million) the Brazilian government said.
Photo: EPA
It was suspended during the presidency of then-Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro due to his environmental policies.
Bolsonaro had issued a decree authorizing mining exploitation in indigenous areas and protected zones, which Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva revoked after beginning his term in January.
Brazil and Norway agreed to reactivate the fund after Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the October election, before he even returned for a third term as president.
He has made environmental protection a priority.
“We have this 15 years of history of working together on the Amazon Fund,” Barth Eide told reporters in Brasilia, after meeting with Brazilian Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva.
In January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced he was prepared to transfer 200 million euros (US$218.0 million) to the fund.
After Norway, Germany is the second-biggest contributor to the fund.
The US, France and Spain have expressed interest in contributing, Silva said.
“We are continuing our own support and we are also trying to mobilize other donors to come in, because we think this has been a very successful model for Brazil, for us and other countries that would like to learn from this experience,” Barth Eide said.
Under Bolsonaro’s leadership, Amazon deforestation rose by 75 percent.
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