Among the few commitments to emerge from a one-day climate summit — held at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday and attended by over 100 heads of state — was a promise to end destruction of the world's forests by 2030 and funnel over $1 billion in aid to countries where forest conservation is most needed.
Conservation groups, however, say the moratorium — the New York Declaration on Forests — fails to act quickly enough to halt deforestation and that past financial commitments, particularly in Indonesia, were poorly planned and implemented.
"The New York Declaration is missing ambitious targets and tangible actions," said Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo. "Halting the global loss of natural forests by 2030 and eliminating deforestation from agricultural commodities by 2020 at the latest would mean that years of continued forest clearance still lie ahead of us."
Bill Barclay, policy and research director at the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), told VICE News: "The 2030 deadline is pretty far out and of course we're looking for deeper action and tighter guidelines."
The declaration was endorsed by 27 nations, including the US, and subnational governments in Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Mexico, and Peru — areas comprising the world's largest intact tropical rainforests.
Indonesia is killing the planet for palm oil. Read more here.Deforestation accounts for at least 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — roughly the same amount generated by all the world's cars, trucks, trains, boats, and planes combined. The cultivation of just four agricultural commodities — soy, palm oil, beef and paper — accounts for around half of global deforestation.
The UK promised $98 million to encourage businesses to source agricultural products from sustainably-managed forests and an additional $137 million to end illegal logging. "Investing in the better management of natural resources and putting a stop to deforestation is the smart thing to do," UK Department of International Development Secretary Justine Greening said during a symposium on forests and climate change held on Monday. "Our assistance will help companies, communities, smallholders and governments work together to reduce deforestation and increase crop yields."In addition to the New York Declaration, the summit prompted the UK and Norway to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars to help countries clamp down on deforestation.
Norway also partnered with Liberia, offering up to $150 million until 2020. Around 43 percent of the remaining Upper Guinea forests of West Africa lie within Liberia's borders. The Norwegian funds will be used for strengthening law enforcement in the country's forestry sector and encouraging agricultural production only on land that has already been cleared.While generally supportive of the UK and Norwegian commitments, some conservationists point to the failure of a similar effort in Indonesia to curb deforestation.In 2009, Norway offered $1 billion to Indonesia in exchange for a moratorium on the issuance of new logging pledges. A University of Maryland study found, however, that despite the moratorium, Indonesia's rate of forest destruction rose, even surpassing the notoriously high level of clearing in the Brazilian Amazon."It's challenging," RAN's Barclay told VICE News. "There's lots of problems in Indonesia with illegal logging and the issuance of licenses for concessions."'The government is going up against some very powerful corporate interests. These are very lucrative companies and there is tremendous resistance to reforming this sector.'