Slow Progress on Curbing Deforestation Expected at Climate Conference

November 28, 2012

At the U.N. climate summit in Doha, environmental activists are urging participating countries to think big about how to control deforestation in the developing world, which accounts for 16 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. United States, Europe and other advanced economies have already agreed to pay developing countries to protect their forests, but progress has been slow.

In Indonesia, a moratorium on new forest development appears to have little effect as farmers and large companies continue cutting down trees for timber, then burning off the land to create palm oil plantations.

The moratorium in Indonesia is part of a $1 billion deal with Norway to protect forests that store vast quantities of carbon dioxide or CO2, one of the greenhouse gases that many scientists say contribute to global warming. It is one of over 300 such projects in 52 countries, such as Bolivia and Tanzania, under a United Nations initiative called REDD - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. So far, most of these projects have yielded only modest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Fred Boltz, a senior vice president at Conservation International, says progress on REDD has been slow because it involves much more than preventing forest fires.

“We are talking about transforming the global economy, the paradigm for valuing forests, recognizing their importance in meeting our climate challenges. And that transformation is complex. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take a lot of financial and intellectual investment," said Boltz.