Norway has become the first country to ban deforestation.
Back in the 2014, when Norway attended the UN Climate Summit, the Norwegian government made a pledge with Germany and the UK that the country will give all its efforts to promote national commitments that encourage deforestation-supply chains, including the enforcement of new public procurement policies to sustainably source products such as timber, beef, soy, and palm oil.
And so far, it is the only country that has fulfilled its promises and has done something drastic that is enough to make a global change. Norway has become the first country to commit to zero deforestation. And by making such a large-scale move against deforestation, Norway has set a аmazing example for other countries.
Nils Hermann Ranum head of policy and campaign at Rainforest Foundation Norway said:
“This is an important victory in the fight to protect the rainforest. Over the last few years, a number of companies have committed to cease the procurement of goods that can be linked to the destruction of the rainforest.
Until now, this has not been matched by similar commitments from governments. Thus, it is highly positive that the Norwegian state is now following suit and making the same demands when it comes to public procurements. Other countries should follow Norway’s leadership, and adopt similar zero-deforestation commitments. In particular, Germany and the UK must act, following their joint statement at the UN Climate Summit.”
As a result of their action plan, any product that contributes to deforestation will be banned from use in the Scandinavian country. This will undoubtedly help the country’s fight in protecting the world’s biggest treasure – nature.
This is incredible news, considering how the production of wood products, soy, palm oil and beef in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea was responsible for 40 percent of deforestation between 2000 and 2011. In fact, according to Climate Action, these countries were also responsible for 44 percent of the carbon emissions. So, banning these harmful products is definitely the first step to stopping the destruction of our planet.
But what’s even more incredible is that Norway has also invested large sums of money to help other countries in their actions to stop deforestation once and for all. In 2008 Norway gave Brazil $1 billion to help fight deforestation against the Amazon rainforest. And it paid off!
The partnership was praised by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
“The partnership between Brazil and Norway through the Amazon Fund shows intensified support for one of the most impressive climate change mitigation actions of the past decades. This is an outstanding example of the kind of international collaboration we need to ensure the future sustainability of our planet.”
Furthermore, the Norwegian government also made a commitment to protect Guyana’s forests by investing $250 million over a four-year period from 2011-2015.
But, guess what? That’s not all.
The country also focused on helping Africa in their fight to protect their forests. With the help of Norway, Liberia became the first nation in Africa to stop deforestation. Norway agreed to pay $150 million through 2020 to stop support this initiative. The country also agreed to place 30% of the African forests under protection by 2020.
What is there to say? I just hope that more and more countries will follow Norway’s lead and make these fundamental changes as soon as possible.
The planet is facing mass the greatest ecological disaster that we’ve ever seen. But it is up to us to decide whether we are going to save our home or destroy it even faster. We are the only ones who are responsible for that. Let us not waste our time praying.
