A new incentive structure could help preserve standing forests

The proposed tropical forest forever facility would use blended finance to reward countries for protecting their green cover

- AJAY BANGA, FERNANDO HADDAD & MARINA SILVA

With this year's global summits on biodiversity (CoP-16) and climate change (CoP-29) done and the one on desertification (CoP-16) fast approaching, the consequences of the climate emergency are evident everywhere. Floods have ravaged central Europe, super-typhoon Yagi has just struck Southeast Asia, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton have wreaked havoc in the southeastern US. Hotter, drier conditions have created ideal conditions for wildfires like those that have raged across Brazil, South Africa and Colombia, while droughts have pushed people into food insecurity this year in Africa.

If the scale and speed of our response to climate change are inadequate to the threat, this new normal will get only worse, jeopardizing hard-won development gains in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to curbing emissions from burning fossil fuels, one of the biggest priorities must be to protect and conserve the world's remaining tropical forests.

Tropical forests store significant amounts of carbon, and their demise would result in a massive 1° Celsius increase in global average temperatures, not to mention the loss of untold biodiversity and the depletion of ecosystem services such as atmospheric rivers that supply water to food crops around the world. Scientists warn that the degradation of several of these forests is approaching a tipping point where the remaining forest will be unable to sustain itself or recover.

Individuals, countries and NGOs are stepping up to protect and preserve the world's forests from devastation. But we will need a combination of economic and environmental solutions to address the complex, rapidly changing factors driving illegal deforestation.