Norway Pays $1 Billion To Stop Rainforest Destruction (Yay!)
Did you know that since 2008, Norway has paid Brazil nearly $1,000,000,000 to slow down the deforestation of their precious Amazonian rainforests? What?!
News of this international agreement has recently spread throughout social media and green-news sources. According to Reuters, Norway plans to pay Brazil an additional $100 million dollars in 2015. That is on top of the $900 million already paid in the last 7 years. Through an agreement by both countries in 2008, Brazil has already slowed its deforestation projects by 75%. This is a huge international effort and an excellent example of humans coming together across borders to slow climate change!
The project is called Fundo Amazônia or the Amazon Fund. Managed by the Brazilian Development Bank, they work to monitor, prevent and combat deforestation, as well as educate people on the conservation and sustainable use of forests. With over 60% of the Amazonian rainforest contained in Brazil’s borders, it is a huge first step in the right direction to saving one of Earth’s most precious natural resources. That’s right, the rainforest is an even more precious natural resource when we don’t cut it down!
Did you know that more than 20% of the world’s oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest? I’m serious. 1/5 of the air in your lungs right now came from the moist, colorful jungles along the Amazon River. This is not just an exotic luxury; the rainforest in Brazil is literally supporting your every breath and helping to save your life! In spite of this, every year an area the size of New Jersey is cut down in our precious rainforests. Woah. But, why?
Well, according to rainforestconcern.org, the top 6 offenders are: cattle ranching, logging, agriculture, mining, oil drilling and dams. Cattle ranching accounts for more than half of the destruction to Central and South American rainforests. The demand for inexpensive beef in the US, China and Russia is the primary culprit. That’s right: fast food cheeseburgers aren’t just helping us pack on the pounds, but are literally contributing to the destruction of the planet. *sigh* And we wonder why aliens haven’t contacted us yet.
Norway and Brazil are leading the rest of world in this conservation effort. According to Reuters, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated that “this is an outstanding example of the kind of international collaboration we need to ensure the future sustainability of our planet”. And he’s right. Humans often time forget that we aren’t the only creatures inhabiting this planet, and in fact, the world would keep on spinning just fine if we were to disappear overnight. The same levity can’t be applied to other species on Earth, who literally contribute to the delicate balance of life on our home planet.
In case you weren’t aware (I wasn’t): there are approximately 10 MILLION species of animals, plants and insects known to humanity. And guess what? More than half of them call the rainforest home. There are approximately 3000 fruits that grow in the rainforest that are edible by humans. Delicious! Not only that, but there are a significant amount of plants growing in the rainforest known to have powerful medicinal, life –saving properties. Many of these plants have yet to be thoroughly investigated and utilized in modern medicine and even more have yet to even be discovered!
The second leading cause of rainforest destruction is (you guessed it): logging! Timber companies cut down huge rainforest trees like mahogany and teak and sell them to other countries to make furniture. Smaller trees are often used for the production of charcoal. Wait a second. Furniture? An enormous portion of our planet’s greatest ecological treasure is being clear-cut for armoires and bar stools? Damn. Not only does clear-cutting eliminate the opportunity for future generations of trees to regrow, but it essentially destroys the soil quality, drying it up, and making it impossible to replenish.
Brazil and Norway are basically super heroes right now. According to Norwegian Environment Minister, Tine Sundroft, “Brazil’s achievements in reducing deforestation in the Amazon are truly impressive. The benefits for the global climate, for biodiversity and vital ecosystem services, as well as for the people living in and off the Amazon, are immeasurable”. A Quartz report stated that Brazil has conserved more than 33,000 square miles of forests in the past 11 years. Putting that into perspective, it’s about 14.3 million soccer fields. That is in an incredible effort on Brazil’s behalf. Norway has been also been reported to be funding conservation projects in Indonesia, Guyana, Liberia, and Peru.
Go Team Planet!
