During Biden’s visit, US formalizes support for Amazon conservation
The US government unveiled an aid package for Amazon conservation initiatives, as part of its national program to combat climate change. The announcement came during President Joe Biden’s visit to Manaus, capital of Amazonas state, on Sunday (Nov. 17).
This was the first visit by a sitting US president to the Amazon. The agreements mark 200 years of relations between Brazil and the United States, joint efforts with NGOs and companies, including Brazilian banks, and support for the fight against organized crime—especially illegal mining and logging and forest fires.
The initiatives, the announcement states, are intended to “help accelerate global efforts to combat and reverse deforestation and implement nature-based solutions that reduce emissions, increase biodiversity, and build resilience to a changing climate.”
In the note, the US government points out that “from day one of the Biden-Harris administration, the fight against climate change has been a defining cause of President Biden’s leadership and presidency.”
Part of the actions should come through the federal office of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Export–Import Bank of the United States (EXIM). The former will donate $3.71 billion and the latter $1.6 billion later this year.
Among the measures and investments announced by Biden in Manaus are:
– the donation of $50 million to the Amazon Fund, doubling the country’s contribution to this international financing tool;
– the launch of a coalition of investors in partnership with the BTG Pactual bank for land restoration and support for the bioeconomy, which aims to raise $10 billion by 2030 to remove emissions and support local communities;
– the support for initiatives to generate carbon credits by reforesting areas converted into pasture, under the responsibility of the company Mombak; and
– the country’s entry into the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (FFTS), proposed by Brazilian President Lula and currently being modeled with private capital.
Included under direct investments are:
– $180 million with the Lowering Emissions Through Advancing Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, for reforestation in Pará state;
– the expansion of an investment and co-financing agreement between the DFC and Brazil’s Development Bank (BNDES), extending a deal signed last month;
– funding for the Nature Investment Lab, with $2 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) fund for the initiative, from the Instituto Clima e Sociedade and financial institutions;
– investment of $2.6 million in the Rainforest Wealth project, by Imaflora and the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA);
– more than $10 million for other projects in bioeconomy, low-carbon supply chains, and other forms of local production; and
– $14 million in direct funding for indigenous communities.
Other measures announced by the US government are said to be based on three critical points in the protection of the biome: combating illegal logging, combating illegal mining, and firefighting assistance.
Against logging, the proposal included training in technology to accurately identify the source of the timber through mass spectrometry.
To combat illegal mining, the US will help fight criminal activities and mercury trafficking with a donation of $1.4 million.
Against fires, the US Forest Service was proposed to provide training for “inclusive fire management, empowering women and indigenous communities, including the first all-female indigenous fire brigade in Tocantins and Maranhão.” The partnership for the use of the US monitoring satellite network was maintained.
Repercussion
Agência Brasil heard from the Amazônia de Pé movement, which brings together 20 thousand activists and some 300 organizations. Its spokesperson and director, Daniela Orofino, said she was “happy to hear the news from President Biden that the US will support the Rainforest Forever Fund.”
“Land is a key topic in the fight against the climate crisis. Demarcating indigenous and traditional community territories in the Amazon and guaranteeing resources for their protection is the way forward. We need to get the money to the forest people, who are the guardians of these areas, and to the protection structures, like Ibama and ICMBio. That’s why we will be vigilant to ensure that this support is implemented, despite the challenges following the change in the US government,” she stated.
Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, said the announcement is welcome, as it could strengthen the public policies under development in the region.
“These announcements are vital. Most of them concern the protection of the Amazon, the defense of biodiversity, and the fight against deforestation. Deforestation is one of the main drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil today. Zeroing deforestation is absolutely possible. The current government has slashed deforestation rates quite substantially in the last two years—by around 45 percent. These investments will allow these policies against deforestation to be further strengthened and forest economy to be introduced in places where an economy of destruction is at full steam today.”
