The Norwegian government has announced it will provide NOK 76 million (around US $10 million) for a new project to restore forests and landscapes in the tropics.

Norway’s Minister of Climate and the Environment, Tine Sundtoft, says climate targets cannot be reached just by reducing emissions. “We also need to increase the global absorption of greenhouse gases and actively capture carbon from the atmosphere. Restoring forests is a climate measure that does just this,” says Sundtoft.

An article in Nortrade explains how an area twice the size of China is poorly exploited. “In parts of these areas it is possible to implement large scale forest restoration, expand agriculture and agroforestry, or plant new forest.”

The project will also investigate planting timber as a source of local industrial development.

For example, in DR Congo, “planting forests for the production of timber and charcoal can reduce pressure on the remaining natural forests and prevent deforestation. This could also create jobs and develop local industry,” outlines Sundtoft.

The project will primarily work with authorities in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia and Rwanda to identify where it may be beneficial to restore forests, and the consequences of this on local communities, food production, greenhouse gas emissions and natural diversity.

Read the full story: Norway gives NOK 76 million to restore tropical forests