The world’s three largest rainforest countries: Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have formed a partnership to cooperate on forest conservation after a decade of on-off talks on a trilateral alliance, as reported by Reuters on November 14. Representatives of the three countries signed an agreement at the talks in Indonesia ahead of the G20 Summit. The three parties stated that they will team up for sustainable management and conservation, restoration of critical ecosystems, and creation of economies that would ensure the health of both the people and the forests. The alliance also demanded that countries reducing deforestation and maintaining forests should receive financial compensation for their efforts. 

The three nations together manage 52% of the world’s tropical rainforests, which play a key role in mitigating climate disasters. However, Brazil, Indonesia, and the DRC are among the top five countries for primary forest loss in 2021, a year in which the tropics lost a total of 11m hectares of tree cover due to deforestation caused by agriculture, charcoal production, and mining. Last year, during the COP26 climate summit, 141 nations including Brazil, Indonesia, and the DRC pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. In the meantime, 12 governments committed USD12bn to protect and restore forests, along with USD7bn from private companies. Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is already working with Indonesia and the DRC on protecting all tropical forests across the globe. Lula also reiterated that his government would commit to realizing zero deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon during his presidency.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/brazil-rainforest-nations-join-forces-save-jungle-2022-11-14/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/05/brazil-indonesia-drc-cop27-conservation-opec-rainforests-aoe

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/14/world/indonesia-brazil-forest-loss-deforestation-mining-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/climate/brazil-indonesia-democratic-congo-rainforest-protection-pact.html