Norway donates $70 million to Amazon Fund

The Amazon Fund will receive a donation of $70 million from the government of Norway. According to an announcement made Tuesday (Nov. 4) by the Ministry of the Environment, it was taken into account that Brazil has managed to lower its carbon emission rates after the deforestation of the Amazon Forest was reduced last year.

Norway is the biggest donor of the Amazon Fund, created in 2008 to support initiatives aimed at stimulating the reduction of deforestation and the sustainable use of resources in this biome, benefiting the local population.

Last year, the Norwegian government donated $41.8 million to the fund. At the time, Brazil showed a 12 percent reduction in deforestation rates in the Amazon compared to 2016.

For this year’s donation, the nearly 14 percent increase in the deforested area—reported until July this year and made known last month—was not taken into consideration.

Norway’s support made it possible to bolster surveillance against activities increasing deforestation in the Amazon, like illegal wood extraction and gold mining, the ministry reported.

The ministry also declared that the reduction in deforestation in previous years prevented the emission of over 4.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide—nearly 100 times Norway’s yearly emissions.