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Brazil pilots project to prevent deforestation
11/12/2009
Many hope that, during the Copenhagen Climate Summit, the UN agrees to invest in forestry in a way that could significantly reduce deforestation in countries like Brazil.
Brazil is currently piloting the advanced REDD scheme which pays Brazilian villagers not to cut down trees and instead to make money from them in a sustainable way. Money can be made from harvesting the trees’ products, such as copaiba oil which can be tapped from trees without killing them.
In return for this ‘environmental service’ performed by the villagers, they receive a monthly allowance as well as aid to help them build schools and infrastructure. One villager benefitting from the scheme is Josivalda Dos Santos, who says, "It certainly helps. Before, people used to cut down trees around our village to sell to loggers but now we don't see much of that any more.”
Virgilio Viana, the general director of Sustainable Amazonas Foundation, which runs one of REDD’s reserves in the Amazon, says the prevention of deforestation all comes down to money. "If we want to stop destruction we have to show that a forest can be worth more standing than cut down," he explains.
And it is this concept that may be expanded upon at the climate change summit and potentially change how the world views its forests.
Brazil is currently piloting the advanced REDD scheme which pays Brazilian villagers not to cut down trees and instead to make money from them in a sustainable way. Money can be made from harvesting the trees’ products, such as copaiba oil which can be tapped from trees without killing them.
In return for this ‘environmental service’ performed by the villagers, they receive a monthly allowance as well as aid to help them build schools and infrastructure. One villager benefitting from the scheme is Josivalda Dos Santos, who says, "It certainly helps. Before, people used to cut down trees around our village to sell to loggers but now we don't see much of that any more.”
Virgilio Viana, the general director of Sustainable Amazonas Foundation, which runs one of REDD’s reserves in the Amazon, says the prevention of deforestation all comes down to money. "If we want to stop destruction we have to show that a forest can be worth more standing than cut down," he explains.
And it is this concept that may be expanded upon at the climate change summit and potentially change how the world views its forests.
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