14 DAY TRIAL // Basically, Brazilian authorities applied the “if you can't beat them, join them” principle in tackling deforestation and the loss of valuable ecosystems in the Amazon. They decided to place stock market values on the forest, so that revenues that would be obtained from it could rival the illegal money being made by farmers and poachers working outside the law.
Several areas in the Amazon have already received international certification, after independent carbon emission measurements concluded that a 500,000-acre region, covered mostly by rain forests, managed to reduce its output considerably, due to the prevention of deforestation.
The Amazonas state government wants to expand this successful model to 34 other reservations it currently manages, in the hope of being able to accumulate sufficient carbon credits to enter the international carbon market.
The Kyoto Protocol set the basis for this trading system, which allows states to capitalize on reducing their overall greenhouse gas emissions. Namely, the more pollution they reduce, the more funds they can get for offsetting their goals. The cap-and-trade system is scheduled to be replaced sometimes after 2012, but an international agreement on the exact date has yet to be reached.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, launched a preservation fund in August, which has already attracted foreign investors. Norway promised a $1 billion aid to Brazil, over 6 years. The International Amazon Fund also has other contributors, and authorities are hopeful that more and more will keep coming in, as the carbon trading system proves its reliability for the rain forests.
CarbonoBrasil group researcher, Fernanda Muller, said, "We can't shut our eyes to the reality: forests have an important role in climate regulation and this has been noted in the past year by the UN in its negotiations.” The importance of rain forests has been largely dismissed by international forums over the past decades. However, in recent years, increased awareness on the issue prompted the elaboration of several action plans, so as to tackle this problem.