Tree me

World Bank Fund Will Pay to Leave Forests Standing

The World Bank will establish a fund to compensate developing nations to protect forests, with the hope that preserving forests will slow climate change. 'The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility signals that the world cares about the global value of forests and is ready to pay for it,” said Robert Zoellick, World Bank president. Deforestation is responsible for about one fifth of total carbon emissions, yet was overlooked by the Kyoto Protocol, reports an article from the Environment News Service. Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland along with the Nature Conservancy have committed to contributing to the fund. A report from the Center for International Forestry Research suggests that deforestation has complex causes that can vary from nation to nation, and offers recommendations for protecting neighboring communities that depend on forests for their livelihoods. Property rights to forests are often murky, analysts suggests, and care must be taken to monitor forests and related economic activity, while preventing funds from going to corrupt government officials who look the other way as logging or burning continues.

I like the idea in theory, but how it will operate is the big question. But who the heck do they pay?