Worth more than US$200 million, the fund is intended to provide a viable alternative to logging and mining for African governments and people living in the Congo rain forest. Twice the size of France, the forest is spread across six countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville.
The fund will be used to support projects curbing destruction of the rainforest, which experts say is vanishing at a rate equal to 25,000 football pitches a week. Satellite imaging technology will be used to monitor the projects’ effectiveness.
Spending money to stop deforestation is considered the most immediate and cost-effective way to combat greenhouse-gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.
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