Norway has struck a deal with Gabon in providing funding to preserve what is left of the African country’s rainforests.
For many years, deforestation through logging activities has had a major impact on the Solomon Islands rainforests and the same can be said of the situation in Papua New Guinea which lost 77,266 ha of its indigenous rainforests due to logging in 2017 and a further 22 percent loss of its rainforests by logging in 2018.
I came across the information about Papua New Guinea when I read a news release issued by the World Economic Forum published a few days ago and made available on Linkedin.
The same news story gave details of deal struck last week with Norway and Gabon in Africa.
Reading about the deal it struck me whether there would be any possibility of the Solomon Islands being able to receive funding to preserve what is left of its rainforests to help mitigate the effect of climate change. Perhaps, not, but worth sharing what I read about the Gabon deal and what previously was done in Liberia in 2014 and a similar kind of funding deal in the Seychelles that reportedly swapped part of its debt to designate a third of its waters as protected areas.
This is the story, quote:
“Gabon will become the latest African nation to receive funding to preserve its rainforests to mitigate the effects of climate change. As part of a 10-year deal announced on Sunday (Sept. 22), Norway will pay $150 million to Gabon to battle deforestation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“The deal is part of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), which was launched by the United Nations in 2015 to link European donors with countries in Africa. The partnership sets a carbon floor price of $10 per certified ton and will be paid on the basis of verified results from 2016 through to 2025.
“In 2014, Liberia was promised $150 million by Norway to completely stop cutting down its trees in return for development aid with the hopes of stopping deforestation by 2020.
“Gabon, which is on the Atlantic Ocean, has just 2 million people and abundant natural resources. Forests cover almost 90% of the country. Since the early 2000s, it has created more than a dozen national parks to preserve the forests. Gabon also has around 12% of the Congo Basin forest, which is considered the world’s second largest tropical rainforest. The country hosts 60% of Africa’s surviving forest elephants, which CAFI describes as “a key indicator of sound natural resource governance.”
“Across west and equatorial Africa, illegal logging is ravaging the forests, much of it driven by demand from China. Gabon, for instance, is home to kevazingo, a reddish wood that some local communities consider sacred.
“The Gabon-Norway partnership was announced just days after protestors took to the streets of several African cities and around the world to demand political action to combat climate change.
“While the Gabon-Norway deal is historic, it isn’t the first time an African country has promised to protect its natural resources for financial benefit. In a 2018 deal with the US-headquartered charity The Nature Conservancy, Seychelles agreed to swap part of its debt for a plan that designated nearly a third of its waters as protected areas.”
Source: World Economic Forum.
A Norwegian delegation met with former Prime Minister Rick Hou on the sidelines of a Pacific Forum meeting held in Nauru in 2018 and expressed interest in helping the Solomon Islands with renewable energy.
At that Pacific Forum meeting, Norway’s International Development Minister, Nikolai Astrup made the announcement that Norway was providing $US2 million towards renewable energy research in Tonga.
Earlier this year, the Norwegian Ambassador to the Solomon Islands, based in Canberra, visited Honiara and presented his credentials to His Excellency the Governor General.
It was reported on that occasion that H.E, Ambassador Paul Gulleik Larson was said to have pledged further support to the Solomon Islands efforts in promoting global peace and to further support climate change and sustainable development if elected to the UN Security Council next year.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
