Dec 11, 2007, 10:19 GMT
Bali Island, Indonesia - The protection of tropical forests is to soon become lucrative for developing countries after the World Bank on Tuesday created a fund to promote forest conservation.
Countries around the world have pledged 160 million dollars but 300 million dollars are needed for a fund that is aimed at mitigating climate change, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Bali, where UN climate talks are taking place.
He said 30 countries had already shown an interest in the fund.
Tropical forests are huge storehouses of carbon dioxide, which trees absorb. When such trees are cut down or burned, however, they emit vast quantities of this greenhouse gas, which causes global warming.
The destruction of tropical forests accounts for about a fifth of all the world's greenhouse gas emissions and has, therefore, become an important topic at the Bali conference.
Worldwide, 1.2 billion people depend on forests to provide their livelihoods, and tropical countries are demanding to be compensated for the income they would lose by conserving their forests.
'There is now a value in conserving, not just harvesting, the forest,' Zoellick said.
German Development Mininster Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul pledged 40 million euros (58.7 million dollars) to the fund, making Germany its largest contributor.
She said as part of the project, Germany was concerned especially with respecting the rights of local populations and preserving the ecologically diversity of tropical forests.
The World Bank fund was announced at a conference where government delegates, scientists and environmentalists from nearly 190 countries were gathering in Nusa Dua for two weeks of meetings that are to end Friday. Their goal is to lay the groundwork for a new international initiative to combat climate change after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
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