Environmental Security: Germany Pledged $222 Million To Restore Amazon Rainforest

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Introduction

Brazilian Government will get 204 million euros ($222 million) from the German government, according to German Development Minister, Svenja Schulze for environmental initiatives and policies. Schulze stated, “With the new government and the team of President Lula and environment minister Marina Silva, we have a great chance to protect the forest and to offer a new perspective to the people who live there.” According to her, the Amazon Fund will receive $38 million of this amount, the largest international cooperation project to protect the Amazon rainforest is funded primarily by Norway. Amazon, a vital global ecosystem that under former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro experienced years of damage, who thought the Amazon, was an internal matter. The steering committee that decides which sustainable initiatives to fund in 2019 was also dismantled by him. As a consequence, Germany and Norway responded by freezing their contributions in fund. However, recently Germany promised to give farmers $87 million in low-interest loans to rebuild degraded areas and $34 million to Amazon states to restore the rainforest.

Background

According to Government statistics, deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest has increased by 150 percent over the previous year in December. The world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, is crucial to the fight against climate change. There are 47 million people living in the Amazon, including more than 2 million indigenous people, and the WWF estimates that the Amazon Rainforest covers an enormous 6.7 million square kilometers. The Amazon is home to more than 400 indigenous groups than any other place. The President of Brazil, Lula said in a statement “Despite all the difficulties, the increase in deforestation, the land grabbing, the fires, the dire state of the Indigenous populations, we see this as an opportunity to reverse this whole situation.”

Amazon Rainforest can improve Environmental Security

Due to its biodiversity, the Amazon Rainforest is significant on a global scale. It is linked to 20% of the freshwater and 10% of all known plant and animal species on planet Earth. It also plays a significant role in the global carbon cycle and climate change by storing more than 100 billion metric tons of carbon. Because of this, Amazon has a tremendous impact on enhancing global environmental security. Therefore, the role of all the concerned stakeholders is important in global climate governance, international cooperation and regional governance to ensure environmental security and sustainability.

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Author

Ezba Walayat

Research Associate, Pakistan House

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