Nusa Dua, Indonesia: After ten years of intermittent discussions on a trilateral alliance, the three countries with the largest rainforests in the world, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia have officially announced their cooperation to protect rainforests.

During the campaign last October, Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil, said that they would work together with the two other major rainforest nations to form a partnership. This would put pressure on the wealthy industrialized world to help protect forests.

Rapid deforestation releases carbon dioxide, which warms the earth and endangers efforts to stabilize the world’s climate. Rainforests act as carbon sinks because of their dense flora. Reforesting land that has been damaged can help to bring back wildlife and reduce the number of greenhouse gases in the air.

In a joint declaration made at discussions in Indonesia before the G20 summit or Group of 20 industrialized Nations Summit, the three countries’ representatives have pledged to protect 52 percent of the world’s tropical rainforest.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Environment Minister, Ms. Eve Bazaiba, stated  prior to the signing of the agreement that, “South-to-South cooperation with Brazil, Indonesia, and DRC is very natural.” 

The alliance says that governments should be paid for reducing deforestation and keeping forests around to store carbon.

Along with raising funds for the UN’s REDD+ program, the countries will also strive to create “a new sustainable financial system” to aid developing nations in protecting their biodiversity.

The G20 discussions take place during the second and final week of the COP27 United Nations climate meeting in Egypt. Ms. Izabella Teixeira, the environmental adviser of the Brazilian President, remarked that Brazil will work to get the support of other nations in the Amazon basin, which encompasses nine countries.

“Nature matters, and forests matter. And I do think we cannot have climate security without protecting the Amazon. I believe that Brazil should promote the idea that other countries should come together,” added Ms. Teixeira, who served as Mr. Lula’s Environment Minister during his previous presidential term, which ended in 2010.

According to the joint statement, the three nations’ meeting at the Glasgow Climate Summit last year gave the negotiations momentum.

They have come to completion in the closing weeks of Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing administration before Mr. Lula takes office on January 1.

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