Norway is committed to the partnership with Brazil on reducing deforestation

 - Our payment this year will be reduced, because the rules of the Amazon Fund means that the increase in deforestation in 2016 limits the maximum payments that can be made on the basis of that result to well below what we have contributed annually since 2009, states Norwegian minister of climate and environment Vidar Helgesen.

 

- This should not in any way be understood as a weakening of our commitment to the partnership. On the contrary, we stand by our commitments, and if deforestation is brought back down, our payments will go back up. In this regard I’m heartened by the strong commitment expressed by minister José Sarney Filho to increased command and control efforts, and his assurances that Ibama’s budget for this purpose is being strengthened.

Results based contribution

The annual Norwegian contribution to the Amazon Fund is determined on the basis of the results Brazil achieved the previous year in reducing deforestation in the Amazon Forest, compared to a reference level (ten year historical average, moved forward every five years – currently the average of 2006-2015 deforestation numbers). This approach was designed and determined by Brazil’s government as part of the establishment of the Amazon Fund in 2008, and accepted by Norway without modifications.

 

Brazil's results in the form of reduced deforestation since 2005 have constituted one of the biggest climate change mitigation measures ever. Based on the results delivered by Brazil, Norway has contributed with more than USD 1 billion to the Amazon Fund since 2015.

Increased deforestation in 2016 

In the forest year 2016 (July 2015-June 2016) deforestation increased in Brazil’s Amazon forest compared to the previous years. Moreover, the deforestation level came very close to the reference level – the preliminary numbers show deforestation to have been 7989 square kilometers, the reference level is 8141 square kilometers. If the preliminary numbers are verified, this leads to a maximum allowable payment the Amazon Fund of approximately 35 million USD. Therefore, this year’s payment from Norway, even if we pay the full allowable amunt, will necessarily decrease significantly. (Those payments have averaged around one billion Norwegian kroners annually, currently equaling about 110 million USD.)

 

It should be emphasized that the level of deforestation for 2016 in Brazil’s Amazon forest is still not confirmed. The contribution from Norway to Brazil will only be decided in the end of this year after the deforestation numbers are confirmed.

 

Read more about Norway’s cooperation with Brazil here

www.miljo.no/climateforest/brazil