Smarter Environmental Financing Required To Protect Global Ancient Forests
Forestry experts and international leaders urge coordinated funding mechanisms to bridge a $300 billion annual conservation gap.
Ancient tropical forests continue to disappear at alarming rates, with millions of hectares lost annually despite global conservation targets. During a side event at the 21st session of the U.N. Forum on Forests, environmental architecture experts gathered to address the persistent gap between forest preservation ambitions and real-world funding, as originally highlighted in a feature story by the Global Environment Facility.
Primary forests cover roughly a quarter of global forest area, housing about 80% of land-based species and regulating continental rainfall. Scientists emphasize that newly planted trees cannot replace the ecological functions or carbon storage capacity of ancient forests within a human timeframe.
The feature further noted that meeting global forest preservation goals by 2030 requires approximately $300 billion annually. However, current global investment sits at roughly $84 billion per year. Representatives from the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership noted that while tropical forests require about 1% of global climate mitigation finance, they can deliver nearly 20% of climate solutions.
Representatives from developing nations including Brazil, Ghana and Thailand noted that existing financial mechanisms remain fragmented. Long approval processes, incompatible safeguards and heavy reporting requirements frequently divert technical resources away from direct conservation efforts, the Global Environment Facility feature stated. Experts concluded that streamlining international financing tools and empowering local management remain critical steps to prevent irreversible ecological tipping points.
About the Author
Jesse Jacobs is Assistant Editor of EPOnline.com.
