Paying to keep the Rainforests

A UN-backed scheme to reduce carbon emissions from the burning of forests could be one of the big winners of the Copenhagen climate summit, with the possibility of a big injection of funds. The BBC's Paulo Cabral has been to the Amazon to visit one of the most advanced pilot projects.A UN-backed scheme to reduce carbon emissions from the burning of forests could be one of the big winners of the Copenhagen climate summit, with the possibility of a big injection of funds. The BBC's Paulo Cabral has been to the Amazon to visit one of the most advanced pilot projects.

Read the full report on this link.

Rainforest Clearance Accelerates

The destruction of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has accelerated for the first time in four years, Brazilian officials say.
Satellite images show 11,968 sq km of land was cleared in the year to July, nearly 4% higher than the year before.

For more information click the following link: BBC News

International fund for the Amazon

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has launched an international fund to protect the Amazon rainforest and help combat climate change.
The fund will promote alternatives to forest-clearing for people living in the Amazon, and support conservation and sustainable development
Officials will seek donations abroad and aim to raise $21bn (£11bn) by 2021.
But a government minister said Brazil would not accept foreign interference in its Amazon policy. The environmental group Greenpeace said it was the first time Brazil had accepted a link between global warming and preserving the rainforest.
To see some statistics relating to clearance of the Amazon Rainforest click this link.

What good will it do?

Plans to use a state-of-the-art camera onboard a satellite to monitor deforestation levels in Africa's Congo Basin have been unveiled.
The high resolution RALCam3 camera, designed and built by UK scientists, will provide the first detailed view of the area's rate of forest cover loss.
The project is part of the Congo Basin Forest Fund, a £108m joint-initiative by the UK and Norwegian governments.
The fund aims to curb climate change by preventing deforestation in the region.