25/05/2005 - WWF and the
World Bank (WB) today announced an ambitious
global program aimed at reducing global deforestation
rates by 10% by 2010.
The announcement was made at the fifth meeting
of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)
both as a call to action for the international
community and to mark the renewal of their
cooperation agreement covering the Alliance
for another five years.
Known as the World Bank/WWF Alliance for
Forest Conservation & Sustainable Use
(Forest Alliance), the program will support
the establishment of new forest protected
areas such as national parks, more effective
management of forest protected areas, and
improved management of forests outside of
protected areas. The Alliance also will help
to facilitate regional cooperation and the
adoption of policies in support of more effective
forest management.
“Ecologically and economically valuable forests
in places like the boreal forests of Russia’s
Far East, the lowland forests of Sumatra,
and the rainforests of the Amazon and the
Congo are disappearing quickly to forces such
as illegal or poorly regulated logging and
agricultural clearing,” said Claude Martin,
WWF’s Director General.
“By renewing the Forest Alliance, we are
committing the World Bank and WWF to working
with a governments and a wide range of forest
stakeholders to develop effective solutions
to these forest threats.”
According to WWF, the present rate of global
deforestation is more than 14 million hectares
per year, roughly equal to the size of Greece.
Most of the losses occur in the tropics.
In addtion, World Bank studies estimate that
US$15 billion in tax revenues is lost annually
in developing countries due to illegal logging.
“This is money that governments in poor countries
could have used for social services and health.
These practices need to be stopped,” said
Ian Johnson, Vice President, Sustainable Development,
World Bank.
“The World Bank and WWF are committed to
work with all involved parties to establish
effective and equitable regulation of forest
practices.”
Since the Forest Alliance was first created
in 1998 it has contributed to the establishment
of 50 million hectares of new protected areas,
improved management for 70 million hectares
of protected areas, and responsible management
of some 22 million hectares of commercially
harvested forests.
These accomplishments have been achieved in
pursuit of measurable targets, which the Forest
Alliance has updated and expanded to drive
further achievements by 2010.
The Forest Alliance has played a pivotal
role in facilitating regional initiatives
in the developing world and has been actively
working with the private sector to promote
responsible forest practices, through programs
such as:
• Support for the Brazilian Government’s
Amazon Regional Protected Area Program (ARPA).
This ten-year program will protect 12 percent
of the Brazilian Amazon and establish a US
$220 million trust fund to support the on-going
management of this protected areas network.
The scope of ARPA is equivalent to building
the entire U.S. national parks system in 10
years. ARPA has already added new protected
areas totaling more than 17 million hectares
to the system of Amazonian protected areas
in Brazil.
• Support for the 1999 Yaounde and 2005 Brazzaville
Heads of State Forest Summits. These landmark
meetings have resulted in a cooperative among
the leaders of Congo Basin countries which
has resulted in extraordinary cross-borde
cooperation on forest conservation and responsible
management. A U.S. State Department initiative
of US $53 million to promote forest conservation,
and 3.5 million hectares of new protected
areas, have been established in the Congo
Basin since the first summit in 1999 was convened
with support from the Forest Alliance.
• Groundbreaking analytical work that has
led to the development of a systematic approach
for the detection, prevention, and suppression
of illegal logging in Indonesia. This approach
has brought together a wide range of stakeholders
and helped develop a constituency for change.
A tangible outcome that has developed from
this work was the recently released Presidential
Instruction to combat illegal logging.
• Collaboration with forest products companies
committed to practicing responsible forestry.
WWF’s Global Forest Trade Network, with support
from the International Finance Corporation
(IFC, the private sector arm of the World
Bank) is providing technical assistance and
support to the business community to improve
forest management practices.
The Forest Alliance will continue to work
closely with the Global Environment Facility
(GEF) to put in place innovative financial
mechanisms to fund a suite of initiatives
and field projects that are helping to protect
the global environment by leading to measurable
improvements in forest conservation and management
around the world.
