REDD-Monitor

Earlier this month, the governments of Norway and Guyana signed an agreement worth up to US$250 million that is supposed to help address climate change by reducing deforestation in Guyana. Yet at a meeting in London last week, Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo admitted that under the deal the rate of deforestation in Guyana could actually increase. When asked whether Guyana will be allowed to increase deforestation under the agreement, Jagdeo said “Basically, yes.” Under the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Jagdeo and Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim, Norway will pay Guyana if the deforestation rate is less than 0.45 per cent. But the current rate of deforestation in Guyana is well below that figure.

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In September 2008, the UN and Norway launched a UN-REDD programme. The press release is below. It’s interesting to look at what they are saying about Indonesia: “Indonesia has the potential to be compensated $1 billion a year if its deforestation rate was reduced to one million hectares annually.” Indonesia has a total of 104 million hectares. With a deforestation rate of one million hectares a year, in 100 years there would be no more forest in Indonesia and the government would be paid US$104 billion.
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