Germany and Norway agreed Tuesday to support Peru’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the Peruvian Amazon.
The partnership was launched during the Climate Summit in New York at a press conference held jointly by the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala; the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg; and the German Minister for the Environment, Barbara Hendricks.
Norway will provide US$300 million in funding to Peru from 2014 through 2020 for work on reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation.
Until 2017, the funds from Norway – up to $47 million USD in this phase – will be devoted to implementing reforms and building the institutions needed to reach the phase with payments for reduced emissions.
Germany, in turn, will continue its current support to the Andean nation on climate and forest issues, and will consider further contributions on the basis of Peru’s delivery of results.
“We are making important commitments that are consistent with our regional and global role in the 21st Century. We have a lot of work to do to protect Peruvian forests, to formalize the rights of Peruvian indigenous peoples, to put Peru on a path toward sustainability. This agreement is an important step for us,” he said.
“There is growing evidence that economic growth and environmental protection can be combined,” said Peruvian President Humala, who called the agreement “a major step forward in realizing the vision of deforestation-free development.”
The agreement outlines efforts by Peru in the areas of transparency, accountability and multi-stakeholder participation; land rights and land use; carbon emission reductions.
With more than 68 million hectares of forests, Peru has one of the world’s five largest, most diverse and best-preserved tropical forest areas.
Although Peru’s deforestation rate is low, it still accounts for about 71 million tons of CO2 emissions every year.
“We have a lot of work to do to protect Peruvian forests, to formalize the rights of Peruvian indigenous peoples, to put Peru on a path toward sustainability,” Humala added.
The Peruvian Amazon is under pressure from agriculture, extractive industries and infrastructure projects. Some 350,000 indigenous people live in the Peruvian Amazon, including several tribes that have yet to establish contact with the outside world.
In the agreement, Peru agrees to let stakeholders participate in initiatives to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation; respect the rights and proposals of indigenous communities.
These actions are also aimed at increasing by at least 5 million hectares the areas titled to indigenous peoples and including at least 2 million hectares in payments for conservation performance of indigenous communities.
“By embarking on this path of deforestation-free development, we hope also to reach out to our indigenous peoples and move together towards a more harmonious future,” Humala noted.
The initial measures include: ending the conversion of soils under forests and protection categories to agricultural use; reducing deforestation from logging, natural resource extraction and mining; and helping implement a new forest law.
The partnership will also help establish a public-private coalition with multilateral companies committed to zero deforestation policies and develop systems to cut emissions from forests and to measure environmental and social impacts.
(END) NDP/VVS/FHG/RMB