On the 18th of April the Norwegian Minister for Development, Erik Solheim, signed an agreement with Rainforest Foundation Norway to allocate NOK 69 million (USD 11.5 million) earmarked rainforest conservation in the Amazon region for the period 2007-2010. This is the largest funding ever from the Norwegian government for such type of projects.
This agreement will give a huge boost to the Rainforest Foundation Norway' s work in the Amazon. There they work especially close with the indigenous peoples as they see them as the largest stakeholder and key implementers of conservation. Also many countries in the region, especially Brazil, have over the recent years strengthened the environmental legal framework thus making it easier to defend indigenous peoples' rights versus that of large logging corporations and "burn and slash" farmers who are the main threats to these rainforests. With the new funding the Rainforest Foundation Norway can take a much more holistic and long-term view of its involvement in the Amazon rainforest, making their work all that more effective. As a result they can now double their engagement and projects in the region. With the new funding the goal is to include five new areas for protection, alltogether making up 2.5 times more territory than that of Norway.
Erik Solheim also said that the ministry is considering similar initiatives for other areas of the world with large tracts of tropical rainforests and many aborigine communities, such as Africa and Asia.
Read the story here: Regnskogfondet - Storstsing i Amazonas (in Norwegian) and you can read more about about the Rainforest Foundation Norway (in English) here: About Rainforest Foundation Norway
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