Africa to benefit from billion-dollar forest fund

From the newsletter

A new $125 billion global forest fund could channel long-term finance to African countries for keeping forests intact. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), launched at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on 23 September, will make annual payments to countries based on how well they preserve their forests.

• Brazil has become the first country to commit resources, pledging $1 billion to kick-start the fund and urging wealthier nations to support the initiative.

• Adam Falk, President of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the fund would support regions such as Central Africa, where intact tropical forests support global carbon storage yet remain underfunded. 

More details

• Leaders behind the facility, including the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), say the approach could finally provide long-term, predictable financing for countries that keep forests standing. Early expressions of support have come from China, the United Kingdom, and Germany, with contributions expected from both governments and private investors.

• For Africa, the stakes are high. Central Africa’s Congo Basin holds the world’s second-largest rainforest, storing more carbon per hectare than the Amazon, yet it attracts far less international funding. Speaking at the launch, WCS President and CEO Adam Falk congratulated Brazil and said the fund would not only support the Amazon but also Central Africa, which urgently needs greater support.

• Studies indicate that the Congo Basin absorbs six times more carbon than the Amazon. It is home to the world’s largest tropical peatlands. The peat swamp forest of the Congo Basin stores around 29 billion tons of carbon, approximately equivalent to three years’ worth of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Basin as a whole absorbs nearly 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year.

• The Congo Basin stretches across six countries- Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The Upper Guinean Forest (UGF) in West Africa is also an important carbon sink that covers Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.

• Recently, Liberia launched a two-year pilot project to pay forest communities directly for protecting about 50,000 hectares of the UGF rainforest. The non-market pilot project, backed by Ireland, provides direct, upfront payments to 28 communities to support community-led forest protection and advance global climate and biodiversity goals. These and many other forests in Africa position it as a direct beneficiary of the new fund.

Our take

• Africa holds some of the world’s most important carbon sinks which need more financial attention.

• For Africa, the new fund is a chance to turn recognition into resources and support Indigenous Peoples and local communities across the continent’s diverse forest landscapes.